The Adventures of Penny
by pixiedust5791
Summary: This is a story about the first Lost Girl and her travels around the many different Disney Worlds. She fights the Darkness and protects the Maidens. Please read and review and enjoy the adventure!  OCs
1. Chapter 1

There is a legend in every world about the maidens. They protect the many people of the worlds; without them, the world would not exist. Yet, they do not know about their own ability. Only the Great Magician knows the tremendous power they yield…and the Darkness. The Darkness can control the Shadows, Nyght-creatures, and the Nyght-mares. Even they are controlled by a more powerful force and they are going for the maidens. All creatures of the Darkness despise the sun and anything that creates light. The Great Magician of old was said to have banished all of them to their own world, but they have gotten stronger over the years. But there is a prophecy of a green-eyed human who will have the power to stop them and more…

**The Many Adventures of Penny Chapter 1**

**The Beginning**

The birds were singing early in the morning and the sun burning brightly even through the Home Underground, the heart intense. The Lost Boys laid about the main room, lazily, wishing it wasn't so hot so early in the morning. Even Peter Pan had a hard time getting out of his room on a day like today. Only one person in the Underground who was happy for the start of a new day. She was up right after the sun and was out of the Home before any of the Boys were moving. That was Penny, though, the first and only Lost Girl and she would like to keep it that way, thank you very much!

She has lived with the Boys for about twelve years (give or take a year) and looked only about that age. She was as tall as Peter and just as spunky and ready for adventure as any of the Boys. Penny wore a green short sleeved shirt that needed to be sewed for all the rips and tears it had on it. Along with the green shirt were brown shorts that were worse than the shirt, and a green hat much like Peter's. She was very tan, considering she was outside all day and only comes to the house for food and sleep. Penny's brown hair was short was a boys but choppy because she cuts it herself. She then gives her hair to the birds that use it for their nests. In exchange for the hair, they tell her stories of Neverland before Penny's time. They told her about Hook's treasure, the Redskins and Lost Boys war, and the Wendy lady.

The pirate stories were her favorite since Hook hasn't shown up on the island for awhile. But the birds' favorites were ones of the Wendy lady. They absolutely loved her; Penny learned more about her than she ever wanted. She never knew her parents and, like Peter, never really wanted them. So the idea that the birds wished for the Wendy lady to come back, bothered Penny. Peter also liked the Wendy lady for her stories and the Lost Boys thought of her as their mother. Penny also felt strange whenever they mention her, like a tug in the back of her mind and the color of midnight blue comes to her head randomly. After that started, she requested them to tell her more about the pirates.

Not only did the birds talk to her, any animal that came to Penny talked to her. She realized this when she was younger (her version of younger may differ from others), but never told anyone but Starlight. Star was the fairy that hung out with Penny since she got to Neverland. Star claims that she was born from Penny's laugh and so it makes sense that she would stay with her. She is a light fairy who prefers the moonlight and starlight, hence name. To all the fairies at Pixie Hallow, she can predict when the Blue Moon is coming and creates the star-like glow on the children that dream of Neverland. Star has short blue hair, kind of like Penny, and wears dark blue pants with a light blue shirt. She also gives Penny her pixie dust that she carries around in a pouch for emergencies only.

Anyway, back to the very hot day, Penny was walking to Mermaid Lagoon for a swim. She didn't have Star with her or else she would've flown there, but walking under the shade of the giant trees was just as much fun. The forest was her favorite place because, to her, it was alive. When the wind blows, the leaves whisper secrets to her. Penny loved walking in the forest with her bare-feet because she thinks she can feel the earth welcomes her and tells her when danger is near. Again, this was all in her head and it wasn't like Peter or the Boys would believe her anyways.

As Penny drew near the Lagoon, she felt something off; something was different and didn't feel right. The air wasn't moving and the birds have stopped chirping their morning songs. What she did hear was a harsh "CAW!" sound. She looked up into the ancient trees and saw these giant black birds. There were about five in the tree right above her. Penny had never seen such birds before and continued to stare at them. They looked down at her with their beady black eyes and Penny felt a chill go through her, despite the hot day.

_Maybe they want to talk to me,_ Penny thought to herself as she got closer to the tree.

"Hello up there!" she called as she climbed up on the branch. The earth was trying to warn her of the danger but she continued to up the tree. The birds ignored her but stopped cawing and looked harder at her.

"Are you lost?" Penny tried again, when she heard a voice inside her head.

_Green-eyed human_, the voice sounded cold and harsh in her head that she paused,_ we have found you at last._

The birds immediately flew off the branches and headed straight for her. Penny barely had time to register what was happening when the tree branches started to sway toward the birds as if to block them. All the leaves were telling her to run and this time she listened.

Penny ran toward the Underground as fast as she could, but she could hear the black birds coming closer to her. How she wished Star were with her when she remembered the pouch of pixie dust around her waist. She stopped for a second to quickly get the string unattached. The birds were gaining fast that she could hear what they were saying:

_We have found her at last!_

_Don't let her get away!_

_We must tell the Master!_

Penny looked up and saw the leader just around the next tree, staring at her as if she was food that he was trying to catch. She finally got the string undone and dumped the whole pouch over her head, even thought Star told her numerous times a pinch is all it takes.

_I'm sure Star would understand if she were with me right now,_ Penny thought as she could feel the magic working. The leaves were yelling at her, "The sun!" so Penny flew straight up from where she was as the closest bird was right behind her. But as soon as she reached the top of the trees, none of the black birds were following her. She looked below and through the leaves, she could see them, sitting there as if they couldn't follow her. She tuned into their thoughts but only felt anger and…fear? She didn't have time to dwell on what they were afraid of, for something else had caught her eye. Across from where she was flying, by Pirates Cove, was a pirate ship. Penny wasn't at Neverland for the time Hook was there so she didn't recognize the ship. The ship was big with tree masts with their billowing white sails full of wind. It slowly dragged the ship closer to the shore. Penny didn't know what happened to the ship, for she was already flying toward the Home Underground with the thoughts of pirates and black birds in the back of her head.


	2. Chapter 2

TAoP Chapter 2

The New Arrivals

Penny flew straight down Hangman's Tree and landed on the Lost Boys bed. Luckily, none of the Boys were on it, but she did run into Cubby as she stumbled in her landing. Cubby then ran into Slightly, who then hits First Twin, then Second Twin, and continues down the line until Tootles.

"Penny!" they yelled from the pile. They each got up and turned to glare at her.

She grinned guiltily at each of the Boys, "Sorry Cubby! Guess I still need to practice my landings."

"That's what we w get for having a girl in the tree," the boy in the fox costume said as he brushed himself off. That was Slighty and Penny doesn't get along very well with him.

"It's okay Penny! It was only an accident!" the bear boy said as he helped the other boys up. That was Cubby, the most gentle of the boys. The Twins were wearing raccoon costumes, Nibs was the rabbit, and Tootles was in the skunk costume.

"Putting that aside, where's Peter?" Penny asked as she runs to his room and looked inside.

"Who knows where he goes," First Twin said, "He never tells us anything."

"Maybe he went to get Wendy to be our mother again…" Second Twin pondered. Tootles nodded his head eagerly and got a dazed look in his eyes as if seeing the Wendy lady herself.

Penny snorted as she backed out of Peter's room, "As if! She's got to be an adult by now! Children don't stay young forever like us."

"She is too coming back!" Slightly yelled from his corner, playing with a rock tomahawk the Redskins gave him.

"Again putting dreams behind us, there's a pirate ship coming into Pirates Cove!"

"What?" all the Boys called. They got closer to Penny as she knelt on the ground and pulled out her dagger. On the ground, she drew a perfect replica of the ship in a matter of minutes. It's another one o her unusual talents she has that makes her different from the Boys; she can draw just about anything without learning.

As she was drawing, Starlight came into the Tree and landed on Penny's shoulder. She was silent through the drawing process, waiting patiently for her to finish. When she was done, Star asked questions. Penny answered quietly and went through her day as the Lost Boys studied the picture.

"You don't think Hook's back, do you?" First Twin asked Second Twin, who had his hand on his chin lost in thought.

"It looks like it. Even in this picture, I can't forget Hook's ship," he answered as Tootles nodded, looking grim.

"Aw, I don't believe it!" Slightly said loudly as he went back to his corner, "She's prolly making up stories again."

"Then how did she create a perfect picture of the ship?" Nibs asked, pointing at the picture.

"Well then, show us the ship, Penny! If one really exists…"

"Alright! I'll show you. Shouldn't be too hard to find. Even you might be able to see it, Slightly!" Penny said. Star put pixie dust on her and she flew up the tree, waiting for the Boys to come out. As they were waiting for the Boys, Penny did a quick scan of the forest to see if she find anymore black birds. But everything seemed to be back to normal.

"They must've left…" Penny said to herself doing another scan. The trees were silent and she took that to be a sign of all clear. The birds were chirping again as if nothing happened. Squirrels and rabbits were running around and chatting to each other but none of them mentioned the black birds. Penny was about to ask them about it when the Lost Boys came out of the Home.

"So where is this ship?" Nibs asked, looking excited for some adventure.

"It's by Pirate Cove…I'll meet you guys by Mermaid Lagoon so that we can look together!" Penny took off flying for the ocean. She didn't have to worry about the Boys since they knew the island as well as her. They probably knew a short cut or two so it wouldn't take too long.

Penny landed on a pile of rocks that were in the Lagoon. This was where Peter told stories to the mermaids. All the mermaids adore Peter, but they didn't like Penny as much. Probably has something to do with the fact that she's a girl, though she didn't see what was wrong with that. He was her best friend; the one who taught her everything and rescued her and gave her a home.

She sighed as she laid down in the rock thinking of Peter. What if…he was visiting the Wendy lady? Did that mean she was coming back to be their...their mother? Penny shuddered at the thought. She never knew mother and did not have the desire to meet her. If her mother wanted her, she would be home with her…besides, Peter told her everything about mothers. Nasty creatures. And again, midnight blue came to mind as she thought about Wendy.

BOOM! Penny was rudely interrupted by a large noise that was above her. She jumped up with her dagger and looking up. She found a huge ship, very different from the pirate ship, hurtling down toward her.

"STAR!" she yelled as she jumped off the rock. Star flew up by her and immediately Penny started to fly. The ship crashed into the Lagoon with a large splash, which reached Penny at her height. She shook her head free of water and slowly approached it. Star landed on her shoulder, chiming warnings. When she got closer, the side of the ship opened and voices could be heard from inside.

"I thought you said it was fixed!"

"I don't know what happened! Ludwig thought it would work fine."

"Well, that's your problem! Trusting Ludwig…half of his inventions don't even work!"

"Okay, okay, I'll take a look at it-Ahhh!" a boy fell into the Lagoon as he walked out.

"Jayden! Jay, what's-Argh!" a girl cried out, falling in right behind the boy, "Water! We landed in the ocean! Where are we?"

"Do you need some help?" Penny offered as she hovered over them. They looked up confused. "Well, you are getting wet…"

"Oh well, alright," the girl said as she put one arm out and Penny grabbed it, trying to get her out. It was a no go.

"You're too heavy…maybe you can swim to the shore instead." Penny pointed toward the island.

"Why didn't you-never mind."

They swam to the shore with Penny following them from above. As the two of them got out of the water, she saw that they were tall. _Adults!_ She thought in her head, _They must've come with Hook and they were sent ahead to scout._ She slowly drew her dagger just as they were trying to dry off.

"So Ludwig thought it was fixed, eh? When are you going to learn not to trust his judgment?" the girl asked, wringing out her purple hair. The boy was cleaning his glasses and shaking his hair dry.

"Well, we did the basic tests, but I think we messed up on the navigation system which in turn messed up the engine," he mused as he looked around, "This isn't where I wanted to go…"

"Oh yea, and where was that?"

"Uh…Montesser," he said quietly, turning to look at the ship.

"Montresser! You thought that we could get there with a ship that Ludwig fixed?"

"Hey some of his inventions work! You just don't-what are you doing?" penny came up behind him with her dagger and pointing it against his throat.

"Hey!" the girl pulled out guns and pointed them at Penny.

"Why has Hook sent you? Who are you? What does he and you want?" Penny demanded looking at the girl.

"Hook? Who is he? Is he part of this world?"

"Jayden, now's not the time to ask questions about that!" the purple girl said while taking a close aim.

"Wait, wait! We have to explain to her, Illiana," Jayden said calmly, "Please, miss, we will explain. We don't know who this Hook is. Honest."

Penny hesitated and looked down at the boy. Behind his glasses, the sea colored eyes never moved from Penny's and looked as calm as his voice. She listened for the wind, but did not hear any warnings from the trees around, so she slowly let go of him and put her dagger away. Penny sat on the ground, waiting to hear what they had to say and ready to spring into action in case they did something.

"Right…Illiana, put those away! Besides they only work on the Darkness."

"But she didn't know that until you said something!" Illiana slowly put them away, still watching Penny.

"Okay, to start things off, my name's Jayden and this is my good friend, Illiana-"

"What kinda weapon is that?" Penny interrupted, eyeing the guns hanging on Illiana's belt.

"Ah-those are guns. They shoot special bullets that can only harm the…Darkness."

"Kinda like a pistol?"

"Well…kinda…only these can hold more than one shot," Illiana explained.

"Look. If I'm to explain everything, then no interruptions, got it?" Jayden said a little impatiently, "Right…where to start? Probably from the beginning…"


	3. Chapter 3

TAoP Chapter 3

Stories

As Jayden was thinking of a good place to begin, Penny took a good look at the two of them. The boy was tall and skinny, with some slight muscle but could be strong enough to knock her down (in her opinion). His brown hair was short; it didn't even reach his glasses. Around his neck were goggles, kinda like the ones that the Lost Boys used to swim in the Lagoon. His blue shirt had many tears and stains, much like Penny's, but he seemed to take better care of it. His pants were pretty much in the same state; they were black and also had rips and stains. They had many pockets that seemed to be bulging with stuff that could only be useful to him. Jayden had a distinctive smell to him that Penny could not place, but overall looked like someone who took baths once in a while.

The girl, Illiana, looked much older than Penny. Her chest wasn't flat and she had a curve to her that made her look skinny. The purple hair threw Penny off for awhile but it seemed to fit in with her dark purple sleeveless shirt. Her pants were white with some stains and two belts that held her guns up. They were crisscross on her waist, also in purple. Black straps that were connected to her belt, hung behind and didn't seem to have a point to them (what Penny doesn't know is they are suspenders). Her gray eyes never left Penny as Jayden told his tale.

"Right, so, me and Illiana, come from a different world. It's called Fantasia and we are the center of most planets. We, as in the people who live there, travel to different worlds to make sure that they are still safe."

"From what?" Penny asked trying to grasp all of this new and strange information.

"From the Darkness, now don't interrupt," Jayden continued, "the Darkness is like their name. They can only really come out when it is dark and hunt people down in worlds. The reason is for control; they wish to rule and be superior than everyone and we think there might be a bigger force controlling them. But there is something in each world that has stopped them from entering or they disappear fast. We don't quite know what it is, but we check to make sure that nothing is wrong with the worlds. Now, the Darkness is what we call the group of Dark Beings.

"There are some different kinds of Darkness: Shadows, Nyght-creatures, and Nyght-mares. Shadows are the lowest form of the Darkness. They can control people's and animal's shadows and make that person do whatever it wants. Shadows are just black shapes that take the shape of whatever person comes their way. The only way you can tell if a person is being controlled by a Shadow is to throw light directly into the shadow. Not only are they the lowest form but they are also the most common. We fight them the most because they travel more than the other ones. They force the person to summon the Nyght-creatures. Nyght-creatures are these flying beasts with horns and they terrorize the worlds. They try to get people to give up their Hopes and Belief, in order for them to fully take over the world. The most powerful Darkness that we have encountered is the Nyght-mares. We don't know what they look like because, so far with the different people we encountered described them different. Because of this, we concluded that the Nyght-mares take to form of the thing that scares the dreamer the most. They also have access to their memories and can create false images in their mind. We learned that they use them to gather information on the world and it is very difficult to free the person."

"Hope and Belief?"

"Those are the things inside everyone that can be used to help with their magic and can fend off the Darkness. If people don't have Hope in someone or if people don't Believe in magic, their defenses are down and the Darkness will easily be able to take over. Most of our weapons and powers are based on Belief. We need those to protect them and their world."

"How did you guys find out all of this and is that why you came here?"

"A very powerful magic user discovered the Darkness and used his magic to bind them into their own world. But somehow they broke out of that and now we believe that they are spreading out to more worlds at a rapid pace," Illiana explained, getting caught up in the moment, "Most people on Fantasia are trained to handle a situation like this and so they are able to stop them, but that's not what we are doing."

"Sadly, yes, we are still in training and technically not supposed to be her. See, I was testing out this now invention I made and it didn't go as well as I planned," Jayden said guiltily.

"So you guys shouldn't be here and yet you are?" Penny asked.

"I was aiming for another world. By the way, what world is this?"

"Neverland is what we call this island."

"We?" Illiana asked.

"Peter and the Lost Boys," Penny explained, "We all live here."

"That's it? Are there any adults here?"

"No, Neverland is a place for children," Jayden said, as Penny opened her mouth to explain, "It is actually a very magical place." In his hand was a small computer and he was reading what was on the screen.

"What is that?" Penny asked as she flew over to look at it.

"This is something that all fighters have. It is a computer that tells us about worlds that we have already discovered. I guess we have been here before."

"Oy! Penny! We don't see a ship!" a voice called out in the distance. The three turned to where the voice came from and found the Lost Boys coming their way. The Boys stopped and stared at the new-comers.

"Really? Hmm…hold on a second!" Penny flew up until she could see the ocean all around the island. Star flew out of Penny's hat twinkling; she sometimes goes in there to get some sleep.

"I don't really understand who they were." More twinkling. "But they seem okay and they don't look like pirates." Penny stated as she looked around. Sure enough, the pirate ship was nowhere in sight. _I wonder where they could be._ Penny floated back down to where everyone was and found the Boys swimming in the Lagoon and Jayden and Illiana looking at their ship. Jayden was trying to get the ship out of the water while Illiana checked out the small computer.

"Do you need some help?" Penny offered, as the boy struggled.

"Yes, please." Together they managed to get the ship out of the water and onto the grassy shore. The ship was blue, red, purple, and black. Each block was a different color as if to create some puzzle. The colors must've had some significance to them since they two had the same colors. Jayden then took off his glasses and snapped on his goggles. He opened a little compartment on the side and inside, Penny saw wires of all colors and switches glowing in the sun,

"Seems like we might have missed wired the engine starter to the shape shifting button…" Jayden mused as he looked at everything.

"Huh?"

"Don't worry about him. He likes talking to himself as he works," Illiana called as she continued to study the screen. Penny walked over and looked too. On the screen was a model of Neverland and some writings all around it. The model was revolving so she could see every detail of the island.

Reading Penny's mind, Illiana explained, "This here tells me the history of your island and those who live here. Also, it tells me all the Darkness activity in the past years. Funny thing is, I can't seem to find anything about a girl living here."

"Oh I'm Penny! I haven't lived here that long…at least I don't think I have," Penny explained.

"Still…that's why! This hasn't been updated in a couple years!"

"Well, we would know if someone has been on our island."

"There we go! This should've fixed it! At least until we get to Fantasia," Jayden said, coming over to where the girls were. He switched for his glasses again, "Maybe, while we're here we should investigate."

"Great idea! Maybe then our punishment will not be as extreme as it probably already is," Illiana said with heavy sarcasm, "But it wouldn't hurt. Plus it will give us some practice." She handed the computer to Jayden as they both turned to Penny.

"So have you noticed anything different than before on the island?" she asked. Jayden had his hand hovering over the keyboard waiting for Penny's response.

"Er…not really…" tinkling interrupted Penny thoughts, as Starlight flew to Penny's shoulder, "Oh you're right, Star! There were some black birds that were here this morning."

"Black birds? Did they do anything strange?" Illiana frowned.

"Well…they talked and then they sorta chased me. They seemed to be after something. And they couldn't go into the sun, that's how I escaped."

"You don't think…." Jayden looked at Illiana.

"We should tell them." Illiana turned towards the ship as Jayden closed his computer and followed.

"Wait! What does it mean?" Penny asked, following them.

"It's just something that may be helpful in our investigation," Jayden looked at Penny, calculating, "Could you come with us? The King might not believe us if we just told them, but if we brought a witness…"

"Are you crazy? That's breaking all the rules now! We could get into serious trouble!" Illiana warned, stopping right outside the ship.

`"It's a risk I'm willing to take." Both stared down one another until Illiana looked away.

"Fine but it's on your head!" she entered the ship and started it up.

Jayden looked at Penny, who looked confused, "Please, we need you to come with us."

"Will I come back?" Penny asked a little worried.

"Yes, I promise."

A moment of hesitation and Penny nodded slowly. She turned to look at the Lost Boys, who starred as this was happening. "I'll be back! Tell Peter that I will!" She called to them as she followed Jayden on the ship.

"W-wait! Penny, don't-" Nibs yelled but it was too late. The door closed and the last thing they saw was Penny's confident smile as the ship flew towards the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

TAoP Chapter 4

Fantasia

Penny stood by the door, watching her homeland get smaller and smaller until she couldn't see it anymore. She felt her eyes water but she brushed them away impatiently. _It's not like I'm never going to see them again, _she thought as she looked around. The ship was spacious and neat. There were blinking lights everywhere lighting up some panels of buttons and switches. At the front was a huge window that showed the stars and planets. Illiana sat at a seat and was controlling the ship as Jayden sat next to her. She completely ignored him and continued to look out the window, focused. Jayden pushed some buttons and a screen popped up in front of him.

"This is ship #5791, come in anyone at the harbor," Jayden stated clearly to the screen and waited. A few seconds passed and a small creature came into the screen. It was a small chipmunk with a red nose and it seemed to be wearing a red shirt with flowers on it.

"Jayden! Illiana! Where have you guys been? Everyone's been searchin' for ya!" the chipmunk squeaked, jumping up and down in front the screen.

"Never mind that. Can we land soon? I don't know how long this ship can last."

"Alright but just to warn ya, folks ain't too happy that you left. And-"

"Dale, who's on the screen?" Another high pitched voice asked as it came into view. It was another chipmunk but this one had a black nose and was wearing a fedora and a jacket. He turned to the screen and jumped back. "It's Jayden and Illiana! Hey, Your Majesty! It's them!" he called out.

"No wait! Chip! Don't- Your Highness…uh…" Jayden said flustered, looking at Illiana, but she ignored him, keeping her eyes on the window. Penny came closer to where the screen was and found a mouse wearing a red robe. Jayden saw Penny get closer and waved her away. "We were just coming back from a…practice run of the ship…and um…"

"Enough. Just come back and we shall discuss this further," the mouse said as the screen went black.

Jayden sighed and stretched in his chair, "Well, that went well."

"I'm not taking a fall for you," Illiana said quietly.

"I'm not asking you to."

"I've trained way too hard to lose my chance of becoming the best sharp shooter."

"I know. I'll take the blame."

Things were silent and Penny just stood, listening and taking it all in. Even Star was silent through the ride. Pretty soon, a planet came into sight. It had a huge castle that was blue and white. Around the castle was a town that was bustling with people. Illiana slowed down the ship as they got closer to the harbor. She landed next to the dock and opened the door. She got up and moved toward the door. She stopped and looked at Penny, "You better not be lying about the birds."

Jayden followed, motioning to Penny to follow. As she stepped off the ship, she saw how big the town really was. There were people walking around, laughing, talking and children playing in the streets. Not only were there people, but animals that walked like humans. Guards walked and even talked to the townspeople. Each of them had the same crest on their right side, three circles, two smaller ones on top of a larger one.

"C'mon and don't get lost."

Penny walked and turned her head every so often to see something new. There were shops, food vendors, a black smith hammering on a sword; over all a feeling of peace. Starlight sat on Penny's shoulder taking it all in and twinkling with delight when she saw things to her fancy. Penny never left Jayden's side as they got closer to the castle. The gate surrounding the castle was huge and it also had the same symbol as the guard's armor. In front of the gate was a group of people and Jayden groaned.

"Great, everyone's here." Illiana grumbled.

Penny looked and saw the same mouse that was on the screen; two ducks, one was wearing all blue and had a hat on, the other had a white lab coat and a grey shirt underneath; two dogs, the taller one was carrying a shield with green and orange stripes and his clothes matched, the smaller one (though not by much) had a red shirt with green outline and blue pants carrying a shield and sword. The last person was the only human whose deep red shirt and black pants caught Penny's attention. His jet black was long since it was pulled back into a ponytail and he was wearing a smug smile on his face.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," the mouse stated as the three stopped, "Who is this?" Everyone turned to Penny and stared.

"I'm-"

"This is really important! We have to talk before I explain anything," Jayden interrupted.

"What's so important! Did you bring this girl from another world?" the blue duck demanded, tapping his foot impatiently.

"Like I said before, I'll explain everything. Just hear me out-"

"Oh right, like that will stop you from being punished," the black hair kid smirked.

"I don't have time for you, Ace-"

"It's about the Darkness," Illiana abruptly stated. Everyone turned to look at her, but she looked at the mouse, "King Mickey, we have reason to believe that the Darkness are searching for something and are taking control over animals to search for it. They maybe already be at other worlds."

"Hmm…we shall discuss this in the library," King Mickey said, "Max and Ace, you may return to your training. Ludwig, you can return to your laboratory. Thank you for helping us search. Donald and Goofy, if you could follow me. You three also come." He turned and headed into the castle.

"But, Your Majesty-" Ace complained.

"C'mon, we clearly aren't ready for this yet," the red shirt dog, Max, said as he pulled on the other guy's arm. He looked at Jayden and Illiana and winked before they walked away behind the castle.

"Jayden, my boy, you must tell me of your flight after your talk with the King, of course," exclaimed the lab coat duck. He had a very heavy accent that Penny couldn't place.

"Of course, Professor Ludwig."

"C'mon! The King is waiting," the other duck called from the entrance. Illiana followed without a word and Jayden pulled Penny with him.

Inside the castle was huge and spacious. People in fancy clothing walked around cleaning and dusting, but bowed when Mickey passed by. There were broomsticks walking with pails in each hand. As they walked, Penny sensed that there was someone here who was important. It was kind of like the same feeling she got when somebody mentioned Wendy's name.

They had finally reached some huge double doors at which King Mickey opened and everyone followed him inside. The library was huge and filled with books from the floor all the way up to the top of the ceiling.

"Wow…"Penny said in awe and Star agreed. Mickey sat behind the table that was in there and Donald sat on his right as Goofy stood behind the two of them.

Jayden bent down to Penny and whispered, "The King is Mickey, while the impatient duck is Donald. He's a very powerful magic user. The other one is Goofy and he's the Kings personal guard. All three are best friends and go on missions together."

"So you have some information about the Darkness?" Mickey asked, "Why don't you start with the fact that you two left without permission."

"This was all my fault, Your Majesty," Jayden moved forward so their attention was on him, "You see, Professor Ludwig and I had repaired ship #5791 after if came back a complete mess. We even managed to add a couple of new features and we had hoped it work, but that's not really important right now. Anyways, we were heading towards Montressar when something messed up the engine and…"

Penny grew bored with the talk, so she looked around the library. There were thousands of books and all seemed magnificent. She wanted to see how many there truly were but she didn't want to draw attention to herself just yet. She looked back at Jayden and found he was still talking. Penny kept looking back at the group and the shelves as she slowly made her way to the books. Finally she made it and looked closely at them all on the shelf. Unfortunately, she could not read; none of the Lost Boys or Peter could or they chose not to. Still it would be nice to see what they held. As she continued to look, she failed to notice that the group stopped talking and ere watching her. Star flew off from her shoulder and wondered how many shelves there were.

"I dunno, Star. Wanna count them? You have to keep count though," Penny whispered kneeling to start at the bottom. Star lifted one finger. "One." That continued up to five and Penny could not reach the other ones. Star flew around Penny and she lifted from the ground. There were gasps from the group but Penny did not hear them.

The two of them got up to ten when Mickey called, "There are twenty shelves in total. Now miss, I was wondering if I could ask you some questions?"


	5. Chapter 5

TAoP Chapter 5

Penny's Tale

Penny looked and floated to where they were. She turned to Jayden and he nodded. Sighing, she looked back at King Mickey, but it was Donald who asked the questions.

"Where are you from?"

"Neverland. It's an island that me and Peter and the Lost Boys call it. Of course, the fairies were there first, but we all live together now." Star nodded in agreement from her usual post.

"And these birds that you found, you've never seen them before?"

"No. Our birds are colorful and have sweet tones. They speak kindly, but these birds…" Penny hesitated, "they were harsh and cold. They were black and unwelcoming. The birds said that they found…something."

"Garsh, they talked to ya?" Goofy asked looking concerned.

"Er…well, all animals talk to me…"

"And what were they searching for?" Mickey asked, taking notes on what the girl was saying.

"They said they found the green-eyed human and chased me. Why would they chase me?" Penny asked, looking around at everyone. They all stared back.

"Well, you do have green eyes, Penny," Jayden said confused.

"I do?"

"Yes, don't you know what you look like?" Illiana asked.

"Nope. Never saw myself! And nobody told me what I looked like. Why haven't you ever mentioned it, Star?" The fairy chimed her answer, "Well, that's true I never did ask…"

"Come over here Penny." Illiana dragged Penny to a corner in the library. There was a reflective glass and it should what Illiana looked like. Penny turned towards it and gasped.

Penny only came up to Illiana's elbow and was way tanner than her. Her hair was messy and stuck up in different directions. It was getting long again and she would have to cut it soon. Her bangs were getting close to her eyes. Her clothes, she noticed for the first time, were worse than she expected. There were holes everywhere and she could finally see where they all were instead of guess. Her shorts were stained with mud and grass. She also noticed that they came down to her knees. Her brown belt that held her pouch of pixie dust was getting worn and old. She would have to replace that soon. But what surprised her the most were her eyes. They were the brightest green she had ever seen and she's seen a lot of gems. They reminded her of the pair of emeralds that were in the treasure chest that Peter had.

"Is that why they were chasing me? Why would they want me?" Penny asked as she continued to look at herself.

"That's what I'm going to find out," the King came over to her, "In the mean time, you are welcome to stay in the castle until we figure this out."

"But, Your Majesty, tomorrow is the festival for the new fighters. You must be present there and announce who is ready to join our forces," Donald reminded.

"That's why I'm leaving early in the morning and I will be back before it begins. I must speak with my master on this subject."

Penny wasn't listening until the words that the King said finally reached her, "But, I thought I was going home. Jayden promised me that I would go back."

"We must know why they want you and we want you safe until we figured it out."

"You promised!" Penny pointed an accusing finger at Jayden, "You never break out of a promise!"

"Now, Penny, I know what I said, but the King is right. You should stay here."

"I have to go back! I didn't even get to say good-bye!"

Before anyone said anything else, the doors opened and two people walked in. One of them was a mouse who was wearing a ruby red dress and white polka dots. On her head was a crown. As soon as she walked in, Penny knew this was the person she has been sensing all day. She didn't know how she knew, she just knew. Next to the Queen (for that is who Penny is assuming she is) was a duck wearing a purple dress. She walked on the queen's right side and smiled when she saw Donald.

"Minnie, what brings you here?" Mickey asked. He walked right up to her and took her hands. As soon as he said her name, Penny saw the color ruby red in her mind. She flinched since the feeling was stronger than the one with the Wendy lady. The queen looked at her and walked over.

"What is your name?" she asked in a pleasant tone that Penny immediately liked. She then remembered what Starlight taught her about manners in front of a queen.

Penny bowed to her and said, "I'm Penny, Your Highness. It is a pleasure to meet you." Everyone in the room was shocked except Minnie who giggled.

"You do not have to be so formal, Penny. My name is Minnie and you may call me that." Penny flinched again at the power and straightened from the bow."Where did you learn such manners?"

"Starlight taught me when I had to meet her queen. She didn't want me to embarrass her." Penny smiled at the memory.

"Minnie, how did you know we had guests in here?" Mickey asked as he watched the exchange.

"Oh well, I sensed her. I felt her when she first came here on the ship and all I saw was the brightest green and the smell of a forest."

Everyone fell silent as they looked at them. Penny, a little unnerved, smelled her arm but didn't smell anything different. Illiana laughed when she saw.

"When's the last time you took a bath?"

"A bath? What's that?" Penny asked.

"Penny, could you sense Minnie?" Donald asked.

"Yes. She is ruby red while Wendy is midnight blue."

"Wendy?" Goofy asked

"She's just some girl that was the Boys' mother for awhile. I never meet her and I don't want to."

"I must see my master right away." Mickey announced. Everyone turned to him, "Penny might be important but in order to find out I must see him."

"We'll come with you, Your Majesty," Goofy said as he grabbed his shield and Donald magicked a staff out of nowhere. It was short and blue, while at the top it had what looked like a sailor hat.

"Thanks guys," the King turned to Jayden and Illiana, "You must protect Penny and show her around. Make her feel at home." Without further ado, the trio left the library.

"I shall see you soon, Penny." Minnie said. She and the other lady followed them out. All was left was Jayden, Illiana, and Penny.

"Wow…I didn't think it would turn out like this…" Illiana said.

"Yea, no kidding! What was that all about?" Jayden said, looking at Penny.

Penny shrugged her shoulders and looked back at the mirror. Why could she sense Minnie and Wendy? Why were they different colors? Could she do more?

"Well, anyways, I promised Ludwig I'd talked to him. Illiana, do you think you could walk her around?"

"Yea sure no problem." Jayden walked out of the room too, "It's not like I brought her here and stuff…" Illiana mumbled.

"I'm sorry." Penny said, looking up at her.

Illiana looked down and sighed, "It's not your fault. Come on, I'll show you the training grounds. I want to talk to Max."

The two of them walked out of the castle and headed towards the back. As they walked, everyone stared and whispered to their neighbors. Penny shifted uncomfortably as she noticed more people came to walk past them. Star noticed and chimed softly to comfort her. Penny took it to heart and decided to see if she could feel anything in the earth. She felt the trees were young and eager to learn that she could understand them. They welcomed her and told her of a forest she must visit and talk to them. She promised them that she would and sensed animals in the forest. The birds were different her but they were looking for things for their nests. Penny told them about her hair and they agreed to take it. As she was listening to them, they came to an arena with two people fighting and others standing around. In the middle, was the black hair kid, Ace, and Max. Ace had a sword in both hands while Max had a sword and shield in his. Both were fighting fiercely and the people standing around were cheering for their favorite.

"Of course, he would be fighting at a time like this," Illiana said as they joined the crowd.

"Won't they hurt each other with the swords?" Penny asked. She was watching them with interest.

"No, they won't. Remember when you asked about my guns? My bullets can't hurt people. Their blades are made with the same material. But they can bruise each other."

Penny watched them as the sun was setting. Neither of them seemed to be getting tired, but she noticed that Ace was breathing heavily. He also seemed to leave his left side open and tended to go for the head. Max easily dodged his attacks and blocked them with his shield, concentrating on where to attack.

"Go for the left!" Penny called out. Max glanced at where they were and swung there. Ace couldn't block fast enough and Max got him in the ribs. The teacher called a halt when he saw that one got a hit. Everyone was cheering for Max as Ace stalked off.

"You'll be the best fighter out there, Max!" Illiana said as he got closer.

"Thanks, Illiana. But I wouldn't have figured it out if she hadn't yelled." Max looked down at Penny.

She shrugged, "He would've lost anyway. He was getting too tired and his blocks were getting slower. Plus he never paid attention to his left. He left it wide open."

Max laughed, "I've been fighting with him for the longest time and I've never noticed that! Where did you guys find her?"

"Neverland. How did you know that?"

Penny couldn't tell them that she felt his movements from the ground, "I learned how to fight from Peter. Plus I notice things that people normally miss."

"Huh…anyway Max I want to wish you luck tomorrow. I'm sure that you will make it in the warriors but you know."

"You'll make it too, Illiana! You will be part of my crew and Jayden will join!"

"That's the spirit, Max!" a voice called from behind them. Max and Illiana looked behind them, but Penny knew it was Minnie before she even said anything, "I just wanted to show Penny to her rooms for the night."

"Of course." Penny said. She looked at llliana, "Thank you and I too wish you luck. I don't quite know what is happening but I do know that you are a good warrior." She followed Minnie before Illiana could say anything.

As they walked back, Minnie said, "That was very kind."

"I wasn't lying. She pulled her guns out fast when her friend was in danger. I would do the same."

They walked in silence through the castle as it got darker. Servants lit candles and torches so they could find their ways. Minnie stopped at one room and held it open for her.

"If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thank you, but I think I'm good."

"Alright, I shall see I you in the morning than."

Penny waved good-bye and entered the room. She sat on the bed, thinking about Neverland, Peter, and the Lost Boys. Star was already asleep on the pillow. Penny stared at the moon outside the window and cried for the first time in her life.


	6. Chapter 6

TAoP Chapter 6

Castle Adventures

The next morning, Penny woke up to a sun filled room. _That's odd. The sun can't reach us under here._ She sat up in bed and found herself in a very spacious room. The bed she was sleeping in was soft like a cloud; nothing like the hammock she was used to sleeping in. The room was a light red around the walls with a mirror and dresser against a wall. She noticed the window had balcony that showed the forest side of the kingdom. It was only after she felt Minnie coming closer did Penny remember where she was. _This is my first time away from home. I wonder how everyone is doing._

She jumped out of bed and walked over to the mirror. Ever since she first saw herself, she can't help staring at her eyes. After awhile she grabbed her dagger and started cutting her hair. Minnie was right outside the door when Penny called out to her, "Come in!"

"Of course you would know I'm here. What are you doing?" Minnie asked as Penny chopped away.

"I noticed my hair was getting long, so I'm cutting it."

"Let me do it," Minnie moved towards the dresser and pulled out a pair of scissors from one of the drawers. "Sit here." She pulled out a chair and Penny sat patiently. There was silence except for the sound of the scissors as Penny tried to think of something to say. She could that Minnie was worried.

"Is the King back yet?" she asked. Her hair was falling around her.

"No. he probably won't be back until later. He always has a lot of questions." Minnie stopped cutting and moved on to brushing.

"What is so special about tonight?"

"Why don't you go ask Jayden? I have to get a few things ready for tonight. And you are done."

Penny moved to the mirror and found her hair less choppy and easy to manage, "Thanks a lot! I'll go find him now!"

"Have fun!" Minnie called as Penny ran out of the room. Star quickly followed and they traveled around the castle for a while. People were cleaning again and there was an air of excitement. Penny was about to turn the corner when she nearly trampled the lady who was with Minnie the other day. She quickly tilted her body and spun around the lady.

"Oh my!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't see you," Penny apologized.

"It's quite alright. I was just looking for the Queen, have you seen her? I'm Daisy by the way."

"Uh, yea, she's right up those stairs and down on the right side." Penny said pointing out directions, "Now can you tell me where I could find Jayden?"

"He's probably in Ludwig's workshop. Go down this hallway and it's the last door on the left," Daisy explained, "Thank you."

"Thank you to you too!" Penny called back as she ran down the hall again.

As she got closer to the door, she found another boy come out of the door. He looked exactly like Jayden except he didn't wear glasses. He wore a green shirt and over it was a white jacket that went down to his knees. His pants were also white with the normal brown boots that everyone else wore. The hair was brown and shaggy, but not as long as Ace's. The boy stopped and stared at Penny.

"I'm sorry, but I was looking for Jayden," she said, looking over his shoulder into the other room.

"He's in there, but he's very busy. I wouldn't bother him if I were you," the boy stated as he walked away.

"What a strange boy…" Penny entered the room anyway. Inside was the ship she rode in yesterday. It was elevated and parts of it were on the table which Penny saw Jayden's back. Sparks were flying around him and he had his goggles on again. She made her way toward him, looking at everything in sight. There were tools everywhere and little gadgets at the tables. When she got closer to him, Penny found him working on a grey cube. It was glowing and there were numbers and symbols on each side. Jayden stopped and took off his goggles, replacing them with his glasses.

"What are you making?" Penny asked suddenly, nearly causing him to drop the cube.

"Geez Penny! Don't just sneak up on people when they're involved in work!" Jayden said as he looked down at her.

"Sorry. I thought you got done talking to that other boy so I thought you would talk to me…"

"Boy? What other boy?"

"He had a white coat with a green shirt underneath and white pants. He looked just like you," Penny explained as she plucked the cube from Jayden's hands.

He frowned and turned to look at the door, "What was Joss be doing here?"

"Joss?" She examined the cube with interest. Star flew around it to try to get an understanding of what it is.

"He's my twin. He never comes in here though," Jayden explained, taking the cube back.

"Twins? You have those too?"

"Of course. There are a couple of twins here."

"Huh…so what's going on at the castle tonight?" Penny asked as Jayden bent back to work. She sat on the table watching him. He put the cube under a magnifying glass.

"Today they are announcing which of the warriors-in-training are going to become real warriors. Plus the captain-in-training will be announced too. It's a huge feast that everyone prepares for. The trainees practice last minute things while everyone gets food, fireworks, and anything else ready. Hmm," he looked at the clock above him, "I should probably practice too."

"Oh, what do you do?" Penny picked up the blow torch that Jayden was using, but from the wrong end.

"Hey! Don't pick that up! You'll burn yourself!" he grabbed her hand, causing her to drop it in surprise. He flipped her hand to see her palm, but it was unmarked, "Didn't that hurt?"

"No, it was warm. That's all." She pulled her arm back, frowning at him. Jayden looked at the blow torch, thinking. "Well, what can you do?"

"Me? Oh right, I'm a magician. Kinda like Donald. In fact, I studied with him."

"Cool!" Penny's stomach growled.

"You didn't eat anything?"

"No, I just woke up."

"C'mon, I'll take you to the kitchen to see if they'll have anything for us. I also didn't have anything."

They walked out of the workshop and went down to the kitchen. In there was crowded with people running around putting food here and there. Steam filled the kitchen making it hot, but the smells dominated the area. Their stomachs growled with anticipation as somebody walked over to them.

"What can I do for you, Jayden?" she asked, looking at the cookers instead of them.

"We were just wondering if you had any food we could eat, Clarabelle. We missed breakfast," Jayden explained.

"Like you normally do. There's a basket of fruit and bread you can have. Now, get out of the kitchen! We are very busy!" Clarabelle gave him a basket and shooed them out.

"Awesome! Now let's go see if we can find Illiana."

They set out to the training grounds outside of the castle, Penny eating an apple and Jayden eating a chunk of bread. There they found many people working on different moves and practicing. Penny noticed that many people were wearing the same colors, "What do the colors mean?" she asked watching someone swing a sword.

"Red means sword fighters; green is for defenders, they use shields; black means magicians, those who can control the elements and other magic; purple stands for sharp shooters, like Illiana; and white means healers," Jayden explained.

"What does blue mean?"

"It stands for other talents, like mine is mechanics. Max also wears blue and he can skateboard while fighting."

"But Donald wears blue, does that mean he has another talent?"

"No, blue is just his color. He always wears it and we all know that he is a very powerful magician."

"Oh. What's a skateboard?"

"Max will show you. Well speak of the devil." Jayden just spotted Max practicing by himself. Jayden and Max started to talk when Penny felt something calling out to her. It was coming from the forest and it was really faint. She moved closer to the fence to see if it got stronger or if it was just her imagination. It did get stronger, but only just barely. She looked back at the boys and found them too engaged in their conversation to notice her. Star flew in front of her face to see if she wanted to fly over.

"Let's go. I'll be back before they know." They flew over the fence and walked around the forest. Penny moved to where she felt the presence. She arrived at a hollow in a base of a tree and in that hollow was a wolf pup. It was fairly young, but too skinny. The black wolf looked as if it has been traveling for a long time and just settled down. Penny quickly knelt down, grabbing another piece of fruit she got from the basket.

"Hey there little guy. Do you want something to eat?" The pup turned to her, his blue eyes looked tired, cautious, and hungry. She grabbed her dagger and cut a piece of the apple. Penny gently offered it to the pup. He sniffed it and slowly took it. She sat next to him, cutting more pieces of the fruit as her ate them one by one. As he was finishing up, Penny felt a tug in the back of her mind. She opened her mind and the wolf spoke to her.

_Do you know where my mama is?_

"No, I don't. I'm sorry," she answered, both out loud and in her head so he would understand. She did the same thing with the birds, but it felt different with the wolf. "What is your name?"

_She didn't name me…_

"Then I shall call you….Midnight, for your black fur."

_Midnight…_ the pup looked at her, tasting the sweet apple juice, _I like it._

Penny suddenly felt a sense of panic and could hear Minnie's thoughts, _Oh, where could she be?_

"They're looking for me," she got up but remembered the pup. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Yes, I would like that," Midnight tried to get up, but wobbled when he took a step.

"Here, I'll carry you. My name is Penny, by the way."

Penny carried Midnight with care as Star followed and they made it to the fence. Once they got there, they found Minnie frantically pacing. Penny flew over the fence and Minnie immediately cam over.

"Where were you? Did you get hurt?"

"No, I felt something in the forest and I found him," Penny showed Midnight to Minnie, "I think his mom abandoned him."

"Oh, poor thing! But the King is back and he must speak with you immediately," Minnie said, rushing back towards the castle, dragging Penny along with her.

"Why, what's wrong? Can I go home soon?" They rushed to the library door.

"No, not that, dear! Mickey's master wants to speak with you!"


	7. Chapter 7

TAoP Chapter 7

The Funny Thing about Magic…

Minnie stopped in front of the library door. Penny stood next to her, shifting Midnight to a more comfortable position.

"I think I might've heard you wrong, but I thought you said Mickey's master wants to speak with me?" Penny asked while catching her breath. Star finally got to sit on her shoulders.

"You heard me correctly. Now go on and I'm sorry, but I cannot enter. I must continue with the preparations," Minnie explained. She could feel Penny's uneasiness, "Don't worry. He's very nice."

Penny nodded and went through the door. She found the King, Donald, and Goofy standing around the desk and they all turned to look at her. Sitting behind the desk was an old man. His hair and beard were gray. His robe was blue which matched his pointed hat. His eyes never left Penny as she moved closer to where the others were standing. Midnight squirmed in Penny's arms.

_Water!_ He called out. Penny looked down and noticed for the first time a bowl of water and food on the floor. There was also a yellow dog lying on a pillow next to the bowls. The dog looked up at them and his ears went up, his tail was wagging. Penny put Midnight down and he ran towards the water.

"I hope you don't mind," she stated to the yellow dog. He shook his head, but Penny couldn't hear a voice from him. He went back to sleep.

"Pluto doesn't mind. That little guy looks as if he hasn't had a meal in days," Mickey observed as he knelt down to see Midnight better.

"I believe his mother abandoned him, so I shall take care of him. Besides, he likes me and he hasn't asked about her in awhile."

"He can talk?"

"Penny, can you come closer?" Mickey's master asked in a deep voice. Penny slowly walked closer to the desk and waited. He looked deep into her eyes and sat in silence. She fidgeted under his gaze and opened her mind to Midnight.

_Do you feel better?_

The pup licked his lips and walked to her side, _Yes! That is what I needed._

The stranger got up from the desk. When he stood, he was as tall as Goofy. Penny has never met someone that tall before. He walked toward Penny, "I sense some strong magic."

"Eh?" Penny asked, coming back to what was happening. In the back of her mind, she could hear Midnight and Minnie.

He smiled, "My name is Yensid. I have taught Mickey and Donald all they know about magic. Now they present me with a problem that I cannot solve or understand."

"Well, I'm sorry…" Penny said quietly, unsure of what to say.

"You can feel the presence of Queen Minnie, correct? Also, that of another girl?"

Penny nodded. Star looked between the two of them, confused of what was happening. She tried to ask a question, but Penny shook her head ever so slightly.

"Who are your parents?" Yensid asked.

"I don't have any. Peter found me and raised me. I never cared to learn who they were," Penny stated, unaffected by the others reaction. They had looks of sadness and Goofy put a hand on her shoulder, as if to comfort.

Yensid was about to ask another question, when the door burst open and Jayden, Illiana, and Max came in.

"Donald! I thought I'd find you here! I have to-," Jayden stopped in mid-speech and mid-stride as he saw everyone there.

"Jayden! Whatever it is, I can wait!" Donald exclaimed. But Jayden wasn't paying any attention.

"Maxie! What are you doing here, son?" Goofy asked and Max was also not paying attention. The trio was staring at Yensid.

"Master Yensid!" Jayden bowed deeply to the magician, ignoring everyone.

"This is _the_ Master Yensid?" Illiana asked. She then bowed too, followed by Max.

Yensid smiled and gestured to them, "It's alright. What is so important that it could not wait?"

"Y—yes, sir. You see, I believe that Penny might have some magical ability. Beside, the fact the she can sense Minnie," Jayden explained, looking back at Donald.

"And where is your evidence of this?" Donald tapped his foot impatiently.

"What are you talkin' about, Jayden?" Penny asked.

"Well, when we were in the workshop…"

"Instead of practicing," Illiana whispered.

"As I was saying," Jayden glared at her, "in the workshop, Penny picked up the blow torch, which I had just finished using, mind you. But she picked it by the wrong end of it. And she didn't hurt her hand."

Donald turned to Penny, "Is this true?"

"Yes, I did pick up a tool, but I didn't know it was the wrong end," Penny said confused, "What does this have to do with magic?"

"Let me see the hand that you picked up the tool," Yensid said, stretching out his own hand.

Penny hesitated, cradling her left hand. She looked at Mickey, who smiled and nodded in encouragement. She put her left hand out to meet Yensid's hand. He gently took it and examined it. Everyone waited anxiously and Midnight looked between Penny and Yensid, confused.

Finally, Yensid let go, looking troubled, "You have very strong magic."

Penny frowned and examined her own hand. Nothing was special about it in her opinion. Out of nowhere, Yensid created a fireball between him and Penny, hovering in the air. She blinked in surprise and watched it. Her left hand went automatically toward it, as if she just had to touch it. Somebody gasped, but then someone else hushed them. Penny very gently touched the fire and felt the warmth spread through her entire left side. It wasn't painful and she moved her hand to the bottom of it, as if to cup it. She brought it closer to her and tried to put her right hand on it, but it burned that one. Penny closed her hand around the fireball and it disappeared.

"Wow…" Jayden said, awed by what happened.

"How do you feel?" Yensid asked, sitting back at the desk.

"Fine I guess. But I think I might've hurt my other hand," Penny said, looking at her right hand. It was slightly red.

"Here, let me see," Illiana came closer to Penny and grabbed her hand. She covered it with both of her own. A green hazy light surrounded them and the aching went away, "Hmm, that wasn't as bad as I thought."

"It's odd that only one accepted the fire," Jayden mused as he grabbed her left arm, but dropped it right away, "That's still hot!"

"Okay, someone explain this to me, please," Penny yanked her hands back and crossed her arms.

Donald cleared his throat, "Magicians normally only have one element or other art that they can be the master of. Of course, we can do other magic, we have one that we are the strongest at. My element is water; I can do anything with water, but I am limited when I do other magic. Jayden's strongest with transforming magic. He can turn into anything he likes. The fact that the fire only accepted your left hand is strange. I wonder what your right hand would accept." As he was thinking, he drew his staff and created a water-ball, replacing the fireball.

Penny looked at it and reached out to touch it with her left hand. It immediately started to steam and hiss, so she quickly drew it back. She tried again with her right hand. Her right side was cool and she did the same thing with it as she did with the fireball. It disappeared as soon as she closed her hand. Penny looked up to find everyone staring at her with looks of wonder.

"Hmmm…" Jayden hummed as he got closer and looked closely at her arm, "Not only can you have fire and water, you can talk to animals. Is there anything else you can do?"

"Er…well, I think I can only talk to certain ones, since I can't hear what, Pluto? Yes Pluto is thinking. But the earth talks to me? Is that what I should call it…it's more like, I know what is feeling and they warn me when danger approaches me." Penny looked at everyone. She felt Midnight tug in her mind and he put a paw on her foot, _What is it?_

_ What's going on? Are you special?_ He asked looking up at her with his icy blue eyes.

She smiled and picked him up, scratching behind his ears, _I'm not sure yet._

"I may have an idea of what you can do and why," Yensid said suddenly, "but I think it can wait for awhile as I have to make sure that I am right. Plus, isn't there a party happening soon?"

"The party!" Illiana slapped her forehead, "I need to change!" She ran out of the room.

"Oh right! Dad, I wanted to ask you a few questions…" Max said as he and Goofy also left the room.

Minnie entered the room, "Come, Penny. You must get ready."

"For what?" Penny looked scared. She could see in Minnie's mind herself wearing a dress.

"For the party, of course! Everyone attends and you are our welcomed guest," Minnie pulled her out of the room, "You must get ready too, Mickey."

They headed down to Penny's room and Penny dreaded with whatever Minnie had planned for her.


	8. Chapter 8

TAoP Chapter 8

Food, Friends, and Fireworks

Inside the room was a big screen blocking a section of the wall, a full length mirror, and Daisy waiting for Minnie and Penny. The double doors, that Penny wondered about earlier, were open and there were tons of clothes inside there.

"Now, Penny, through that door is the bathroom. In there, you will find a bath waiting for you," Minnie explained as she pushed Penny through the door.

"But-" Penny started, but the door had already closed. She groaned and looked around. The bathroom was spotless and white. In the middle stood a large tub waiting for her to sink into and tons of towels were beside it. Penny set Midnight down and started to undress. Starlight flew towards the sink and found a small tub just for her. She chimed with delight and immediately went in.

Penny slowly lowered herself in and floated on the top, unsure of what to do. Back at Neverland, she and the Lost Boys just swam in the Mermaid Lagoon to get clean. Star started giving her instructions on what to do and Penny finally had a proper bath. When she finished, she sat in the tub her knees drawn up and her arms wrapped around them.

_Can I come in?_ Midnight asked, putting his paws on the side of the tub.

_Of course!_ Penny reached down and lowered him into the water. She used her knees to hold him up since he was too small to sit properly. From there, she started to wash him until all the dirt came off him. As she finished up, Minnie knocked and came in.

"How does it feel, Penny?" Minnie asked, looking over her hair.

"Pretty good. Can I come out now?"

"Yes and dry yourself. When you're done, come to the bedroom. We must find you something to wear." Minnie let herself out again.

Penny stood up, with Midnight in her arms, and shook the water out of her hair. When she set him down, he did the same, following Penny's example. Laughing, she found a towel and dried herself off. She wrapped the towel around herself. Picking Midnight back up, she set him on the counter by the sink. She grabbed another towel and quick dried him too. Star also got out and dressed, feeling refreshed and ready for the party.

_That was fun!_ Midnight called coming out from under the towel.

_I'm glad._ Penny carried both of them into the room, where Minnie and Daisy were waiting.

"Okay, Penny, come here," Minnie said as she put Midnight on the bed. She led the girl over to the screen and handed her two pieces of clothing, "Put these on and we shall find you something to wear."

Penny blinked at the clothes. One was just a long strip of brown cloth with clasps at both ends and the other was a smaller pair of brown shorts. She put on the shorts first and found they only came down a little bit above her knee and was skin tight. She was still able to move and all that. Penny looked over the other piece with confusion. Star sat on the screen, patiently told her how to put it on, since she wore one herself. It went over her chest, much like the ones that the Redskin women wear when they go swimming. She then stepped out from behind the screen and Minnie took her over to the mirror.

"Is this what I'm supposed to wear?" Penny asked. She frowned at herself in the mirror, _Am I getting taller?_

"Oh, no dear. These are undergarments. You wear them under your clothes," Minnie explained, taking measurements, "Have you gotten taller?"

"I'm not sure. If I am, I must return to Neverland as soon as possible. I can't grow up!"

"It's alright, Penny. We shall discuss this after the party," Minnie can still feel Penny's concern and anger from being lied to by Jayden.

"Right, I think she would look great in a green dress," Daisy said, looking through the clothes in the closet.

"Yes, I think you're right…"

"Do I have to wear a dress?" Penny whined, looking distastefully at the dress Daisy picked out. Star flew over to it to get a closer look and claimed that she liked it, "Well then, you can wear it, Star."

"Come, Penny, it's a party. We all want to look our best," Minnie said. She looked at her and sighed when she saw the expression, "All right, we will see if we have any nice pants that will fit you." She sent Daisy off to find something and grabbed the brush on the dresser. She went to work on Penny's hair as she worked on Midnight's fur.

"Can Midnight come? I promise he won't cause any trouble and ruin everything," Penny asked. Minnie looked down at him and he looked at her with his puppy eyes.

"Yes, he can come. Pluto would be glad of the company," Minnie said as Daisy came back carrying clothes.

"Luckily, we kept some of Max's old things," Daisy said, lying them on the bed. There was a pair of long black pants, a white long sleeved button up shirt, and a green vest.

Penny stood up and started to put them on. The pants fit her nicely, only they were a little bit long, and she would've rather worn shorts. She tried to put on the shirt over her head, but she couldn't get it on.

Minnie pulled it off, "You have to unbutton it first." She unbuttoned it for the girl.

She finally managed to get the shirt and vest on and looked in the mirror. Penny liked how she looked and fixed her hair so that it was straight on her head. Star made the comment that she looked like a boy. She chose to ignore her.

"How do I look?" she asked the ladies, putting her fists on her hips. She could feel Minnie's disappointment, but then heard, _If this will make her more comfortable._

"Looks good, Penny. Why don't you go outside and see if everyone is here yet?" Minnie suggested.

"Okay!" she ran out of the room with Midnight and Star following her. Midnight was excited as he ran beside his new best friend and Penny felt the same way. Star was looking forward to seeing what the sky looked like at night and the food the cooks were preparing.

They finally made it outside and found that everyone was, in fact, already at the party. The girls were wearing elegant dresses with their hair in different designs. The men wore suits and ties, very different from their normal clothing. Penny stood at the edge, feeling nervous all of a sudden. Midnight had his tongue out, his tail wagging, looking at everything and everyone.

_Wow! Look at all the people! Hey there's Pluto!_ He ran over to where the other dog was and stayed there for awhile.

Star landed on Penny's shoulder and looked at everyone. She found the food table and pointed it out to Penny. She walked over to it as her stomach growled for food. She only had that one apple and that was early in the morning already. At the table were fruits, meats, cheese, and food Penny didn't even know. Star flew down and grabbed a grape, eating it. Penny grabbed one of everything, but found out she couldn't carry everything with one hand.

"There are plates," a voice said behind her.

She turned, apple in mouth, and found Jayden with an amused expression on his face. He handed her a disk and she dumped everything she had onto it.

"Fanks," she said around the apple.

"No problem. I almost didn't recognize you," he said, stealing food off her plate. He was wearing a dark suit with a blue tie around his neck instead of his usual goggles. He also tamed his hair and cleaned up before the party.

"Well, they tried to put me in a dress," Penny explained while she was cutting up food for Star since everything was too big for her.

"A little hungry are we?" Illiana asked, showing up beside them. She wore a lilac dress that went just below her knee. White heels were on her feet making her a little bit taller and around her wrists were gold bracelets. Her purple hair was pulled in an elegant ponytail with her bangs in ringlets around her face.

"Wow, you look really pretty, Illiana," Penny said, taking more food. Midnight also came up so she dropped food in his mouth.

"Why thank you, Penny. You look very nice yourself."

"She looks like guy, a defender about to become part of the group," Max stated coming over to them. He, too, wore a suit but his tie was red.

"Well, I knew she wouldn't wear a dress."

"When do you think they'll announce the-" Jayden started to ask when the King and Queen entered the area and everybody was cheering.

"Please, everyone, enjoy yourself for awhile. In a little bit, we shall announce who our new warriors are!" Mickey declared to everyone.

"Never mind! That answers my question," Jayden said, stealing more food from Penny.

"Oi! Get your own—OW!" Penny was pushed into Max who, out of reflex, caught her before she fell.

"Opps, sorry. Maybe you shouldn't be standing so close to the food table," someone said behind her. Looking back, she found Ace taking her spot by the food. He wore pretty much the same thing she saw him in the other day, only it looked more formal. His red shirt was long sleeved and a black tie went with it. Behind him was Jayden's twin, Joss. Joss wore a white suit with a green tie and he was ignoring his brother and friends.

"Hey! You should apologize," Illiana said, glaring at Ace.

"Why? He was in my way," he said simply.

Midnight growled at him by his foot. Star was also twinkling angrily at him and calling him bad names.

"Enough," Penny said looking at them, "I'm fine. I'm not hurt or anything." She bent down to pick up Midnight, but when she reached him, he bit Ace in the ankle.

"OUCH! Why you little-" Ace pulled his foot back as if to kick him.

"No!" Penny took the kick from the side and rolled away with Midnight in her arms. She tried to stand up, but the pain in her side throbbed and she couldn't breathe.

"Penny!" Illiana came over immediately while Max and Jayden stopped Ace from following. She looked at the bruise that was beginning to form on her left side, "This looks bad."

Penny hissed when Illiana put her hand on it. The pain went slightly away and she could hear the boys fighting above her.

"What'cha do that for?" Jayden demanded. He actually had his staff out as if waiting for a fight. The staff was as tall as he was and made out of wood. It was painted blue with black horizontal stripes all around the staff. On the top were four points and in the middle of the points was a large diamond.

"His dog bit my leg!" Ace yelled back. Joss bent down to see his ankle. He healed it with ease, but never met his brother's eyes.

"Then don't push our guest. She would've moved out of the way if you asked," Max said.

Before Ace could retort back, Goofy came over to see what was wrong, "What's going on here?" He looked between Ace and Jayden and Max, as if he could guess what was wrong.

"Nothing, Sir Goofy. We were just leaving," Joss said, grabbing Ace and walked away.

The group watched them and Ace turned back to glare at Penny. She glared back as Illiana finished healing.

"Now, what really happened?" Goofy asked again looking at his son.

"Well—"

"I just fell, that's all," Penny interrupted. Even though Ace was annoying, she didn't want to be a tattle-tale.

Jayden looked as if he wanted to say something when Donald interrupted him.

"Alright, it is time we announce who will be our new protectors!"

Max, Jayden, and Illiana ran out to where Donald was, just as a huge group of students also approached. Penny stood back to see everything better and to stay out of everyone's way.

_Are you okay? Why did you get in the way?_ Midnight asked from her arms.

_To make sure you are safe. Now hush and don't worry about it_, Penny wanted to hear what was happening.

Mickey got up and everyone fell silent, "Tonight is a very special night. We shall finally group our new warriors into groups of two or more. If you are called, then you are welcome to join our fight against the Darkness and protect those who need us!" Cheers roared through the crowed. Mickey started to call off names and the students who were called stood in groups of two, three, or four. "Ace and Joss will be a team." The two of them grouped up grinning. Finally, only a couple of students remained and the trio was among them. "And our last group will be…Jayden, Illiana, and Max!" All three of them got into a group hug, jumping and screaming. Everybody clapped and cheered. "Congratulations to everyone who has made it and I wish the best of luck to those for next year!"

At the end of the speech, fireworks exploded all around the castle to celebrate. The three of them went back to Penny and they couldn't look happier. They grabbed the fruit punch and made a toast with each other.

"To us! To become great warriors of our time!" Jayden yelled.

"Let's do it to it!" Max added. They all drank.

"Congratulations, guys!" Penny said once they finished.

"Ah Penny, the first chance we get, I will take you back to Neverland," Jayden promised. She smiled and yawned at the same time. Star was also getting tired but watched the fireworks.

"Maybe you should get to bed. Some people get sleepy when they are healing," Illiana suggested, putting an arm around Penny's shoulders. She led her back to the castle and to her room, wanting to make sure that she got there and slept. "I'm not sure if I managed to completely heal it. I'll look into more in the morning.

"Right, it's not that bad," Penny lied a little bit. It only pained when she moved fast, but man did it hurt!

"I shall see you in the morning," Illiana closed the door behind her.

Star and Midnight fell right asleep as soon as they hit the bed, but Penny stayed up to see the fireworks. She didn't know when it happened, but she was soon dreaming of Neverland with Star by her head and Midnight curled up by her side.


	9. Chapter 9

TAoP Chapter 9

Travel Plans

It was the morning after the party and Penny was running to the kitchen with Star and Midnight following. Midnight seemed to have a growth spurt overnight for he was taller and his fur thicker. Penny had a hard time picking him up this morning. As she ran, her side hurt from where Ace kicked her, but it was bearable. The thing that bothered her most this morning was the fact that she was getting taller. When she put on her shorts, they were on her knees and she remembers them being below her knees.

As she entered the kitchen, she found the new warriors sitting at tables with backpacks around them. Star found Jayden, Illiana, and Max at their own table and pointed them out. They walked over as Penny grabbed food and she sat next to Illiana.

"Mornin' guys!" she sang, stuffing food in her mouth as if she has never eaten before.

"How can such a small girl eat so much?" Jayden asked fascinated, drinking his coffee.

"She kinda reminds me of PJ," Max added.

Penny looked up and found them all wearing different outfits than before the party. Jayden's blue shirt was now clean and had pockets going down on the side. His black pants had buckles going all the way down to his boots. There were still the pockets down the pants side. He also had his staff on his back as if ready for action.

Max's red shirt had a green X across his chest instead of the outlining. His blue pants also had pockets and outlining on them was green too. On his back was his shield, which was green, and around his waist was a belt that held his sword.

"How's your side?" Illiana asked. Her purple tshirt was traded for a tank top that was a deep purple. On her hands were half gloves that were light purple with white outlining. Her white pants stayed the same and her suspenders were now the same color as her shirt.

"It's fine. Only hurts a little," Penny tossed food down to Midnight and Star ate off her plate, "Why does everyone have backpacks?"

"Oh, some of the groups are already heading out. We are actually waiting for the King to tell us our mission," Jayden said.

"Okay, and afterward you will take me home, right? I'm growing! I can't grow anymore!"

"Hey, how come you can't grow up on your island? I've been meaning to ask you about that," Max asked, scratching Midnight behind the ears.

"Oh! Star explained this to me once. With all the pixie dust from the fairies, it gets in our water supply. The pixie dust has magical abilities that not even they know what it can do," Penny explained. Star nodded her head and chimed more details, "She also says it's because I'm around her and Tinker Bell so much that their pixie dust affect me."

"Okay, as soon as the King gives us a mission, I will take you back," Jayden once again promised.

They continued to talk and the kitchen started to become less crowded. Many people said their good-byes to others while some yelled good luck. Finally when there was hardly anyone left, Donald came to their table.

"The King wishes to speak to all of you. Including you, Penny," he said.

"Okay…"

All of them got up and followed Donald. King Mickey would met them, once again, in the library, but he wasn't the only in there. Master Yensid also waited for them. When the group entered the library, the two of them stopped talking and watched them all come into the room. Once they all entered, Mickey explained their mission.

"Jayden, Illiana, and Max, you have all shown great courage, the ability to work together, and incredible strength in what you do. Especially you, Illiana, being the only female sharp shooter you had to overcome the most obstacles. You all have worked hard to become an amazing team. For that reason, I must ask you to take on the most challenging mission of them all. You must protect Penny as you take her to different worlds."

Silence followed after the speech as the four of them tried to understand. Penny frowned when she didn't hear her home mentioned.

"Why is Penny dragged into this?" Illiana asked. She wouldn't mind taking her along with them, but the girl didn't have the same training as them.

"Allow me to explain," Yensid said as everyone turned to look at him, "I must make sure of this, but I believe that Penny is meant to travel with you. Have you ever studied the Heart of the Worlds?" he asked Jayden, Illiana, and Max.

The three of them looked shocked and it was Jayden who answered," Yes, we studied them our first year of training, but we were told they were myths. Nobody could prove they exist."

"They are real and Penny has proved this theory."

"How? I just got here and I wish to go home!" Penny stated simply. Midnight whined when he heard her tone of voice. In the back of her mind, she sensed Minnie's concern.

"You can sense Queen Minnie now, can't you?" Yensid asked, ignoring her.

Penny nodded, unsure of where this was going. She could always sense her, but she found a way to block her so that she didn't have to flinch so hard whenever someone said her name. It was almost like the more she knew her, the less it hurt her head.

"Do you know where she is right now?" he asked sitting at the table with his fingers together.

"You mean she's not in the castle?" Penny yelled. She automatically searched for Minnie and she definitely wasn't in the castle. "Tsk!" Penny turned around and headed out searching for Minnie's string as she called it. Minnie knew where she was for her feelings were calm. In turn, Minnie felt the girl's anger and concern for her.

_Penny, I'm fine. Don't worry, this is only a test,_ Minnie said in her mind and Penny could hear every word.

_Safe! Test! Kidnapping doesn't sound like an awesome test to me,_ Penny thought as she went down the stairs outside the castle. Midnight was sniffing the ground, searching for a scent. He could feel Penny's anger and couldn't get around the anger to talk to her, so he wanted to try to help. What they didn't notice was that Jayden, Illiana, and Max was following.

"How could she run so fast?" Max wondered as they stood there panting. They decided to follow to make sure she didn't do anything stupid.

Penny turned towards the town and sensed Minnie's thread, "This way, Midnight!" The two of them ran with the trio trying to catch up. Star flew around Penny and she hovered a bit, but she didn't want to leave Midnight so she stayed on the ground. As they neared the town, Penny slowed down as the feeling got stronger but separated in different directions as if to confuse her. She ignored everyone staring at her as she searched for the right thread. Finally she caught the real one and followed it. It lead them to a shop where Penny burst in, scaring the lady behind the counter and the two children.

Panting heavily, Penny asked, "Where is the Queen?"

The lady looked behind her and Minnie came out from behind the counter, "Oh, Penny! I knew you would find me! And so fast too," she got closer to Penny as she slid down to the floor.

"Mom?" Illiana asked coming into the shop.

"Illiana! What is going on?" the lady asked as the children ran up to her.

"Just an experiment, I guess," she picked up the little girl. The boy ran to Jayden calling his name, so he picked him up.

"An experiment! What would happen if something went wrong?" Penny called.

"It's okay, Penny. What did think would happen?" Minnie asked, sitting next to her. Midnight put his head on Penny's legs, tired from all the running.

_Let's never do that again_, he suggested.

_I don't think that's an option,_ Penny said to him, petting him. Out loud to answer Minnie's question, "I dunno…it was an impulsive thing. You just have to be safe and protected."

"Well, why don't we head back and you can tell that to the King," Max suggested.

"Aw, you don't have to go, do you, Illiana?" the little girl asked.

"I'm sorry, but I must. The King needs me, Angie. But I will try to visit as much as I can. I promise." Illiana put the little girl down and they all walked back.

Once they re-entered the library, they found King Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Master Yensid waiting for them. Minnie went to Mickey and talked to them in a hushed voice. Penny frowned at them, still angry that they didn't protect Minnie enough.

Yensid turned to her, "You were faster than we expected."

" What, did you want me to move slower next time? What if something terrible were to happen to her?" Penny exclaimed. The other three tried to quiet her, but she had enough, "I want to know what is going on! I want to go home! I'm growing up and I miss my family!"

"Of course. Penny, you are special. There has been a prophecy made by me and some of my fellow magicians. Back when the Darkness was almost too hard to handle, we had a vision. We saw a small girl with green eyes who had powerful magic. We have been searching for a long time and had nearly given up Hope when you were found."

"How do you know it's me? It could be any girl with green eyes." Penny was calming down now that people were finally explaining things to her.

"In the vision, beside you were those we assumed were the Heart of the Worlds presences around you. Since not even we know who they are, we believe you could find these Hearts and protect them."

"How many are there?" Illiana asked frowning as she's listening with close attention.

"As far as we know: two. Only because of Penny confirming that she can feel the Heart of this world and on her own world," Mickey said, looking at their expressions when they heard the number, "For all we know, there could be one at every world."

Penny was looking at the floor thinking hard. Midnight looked up concerned and Jayden looked down at her with the same expression, "You don't have to do this, you know."

She smiled at him, "And let you guys have all the fun? No, these Hearts need me. I will do what I can to protect them." She looked at the King, "When do we leave?"

"As soon as you guys are ready. If you three could follow Goofy and Donald, they will give you instructions," Mickey added looking at the trio, "Also, Professor Ludwig has some things to give you, Jayden."

The three of them nodded and bowed to the King and Master Yensid. They followed Donald and Goofy out. Penny started to follow when Yensid stopped her.

"A moment, please," he requested.

Penny watched everyone leave and soon they were alone.

"I heard from Queen Minnie that you can sense her through color?" he asked, moving back to the desk.

"Yes, sir, Minnie is ruby red and the Wendy lady is midnight blue," Penny explained as he pulled out a pouch and a bead. The bead was the exact color of Minnie's thread. When Penny picked it up, it was like Minnie was in the same room with her. The feeling was so strong that she could feel what Minnie was feeling at the time and what she was thinking, "What is this?"

"I gave Minnie a bead so that she could transfer some of her power into it. I need you to do the same with this one." He handed her a clear bead. Penny took it in her hand and focused on it. The bead grew warm for a short time but soon cooled. Looking at the bead, it turned into a deep green color that reminded her of Neverland. She handed the bead back to him and took the ruby red one. She tried to think of a place to put it so that she doesn't lose it. An idea came and she tied it to her hair. With it in her hair, she would always be in contact with Minnie.

Yensid nodded his head with approval, "Here are some more so that you can give the other Hearts a bead and they can give you one in return. Also, I wanted to give you these." He pulled out a pair of half gloves like the ones Illiana wore. One of them was a deep blue and the other one was a bright red. "I would suggest you wear these while you were on your travels. If you cannot control you powers, these with stop them, so you do not drain your energy."

"Thank you," Penny looked at them on her hands and tied the pouch to her belt.

"Jayden will teach you how to use your magic on your travels. Make sure you listen to him and follow his instructions. I wish you luck on your journey."

Penny smiled at him, bowed, and said, "Thank you, Master Yensid. I will do my best." She walked out of the room. Midnight seemed excited and Star couldn't wait to see other places. They found the others by the entrance of the castle. Jayden, Illiana, and Max had backpacks on; Jayden and Max carried their weapons because of the packs. Minnie spotted Penny and ran to her. She caught her by surprise when the Queen gave her a hug and walked back to the castle without a word. Penny could feel her worries and sadness. She waited for a while to see if she came back, but when she didn't, she walked over to the group. Illiana handed her a green backpack, which she took and waited to see what the others were going to say.

"Now, we wish you the best of luck on your travels and hope you come back safe. Make sure you record everything that has happen so that you can report to us," Mickey said looking at each of them. He gave them a nod and went back to the castle.

Goofy walked up to Penny and handed her something, "This is for your fight against the Darkness since your dagger won't work on them. Max will teach you."

Penny looked at what he handed her and found a sword in her hand. The hilt was green and it fit in her hand perfectly. She never received so many gifts from people in her life. She put the sword on her belt, "Thank you so much. I will treasure this and practice every day."

Goofy gave everyone one last look and hugged Max for a long time.

"C'mon Dad, you knew this day was coming," Max said as they separated.

"I know, son, but…be careful out there, Maxie," Goofy walked slowly back to the castle.

Donald was the only one left, "Now remember to get to Montressor fast so you can get a better ship. Be careful out there. This isn't practice anymore and we won't be there to help you."

"Yes, Donald! We will be safe and not fail you!" Jayden said, saluting to him in attempt to lighten the mood.

"Ah phooey, just go! Gosh, darn kid thinks…" he mumbled to himself as he walked back.

They all started to head to the harbor and Penny felt excited, sad, and nervous. She was seeing new places but she was also leaving her home. As they got to the harbor, she spotted the same ship she first went on, but it looked brand new. The three went in, but Penny looked back one more time at the castle. Midnight wagged his tail eager to go.

_Are you ready for this?_ She asked him as Star flew around her head.

_Yes! I'm ready to see some new places!_ Midnight barked and jumped around. They both entered the ship and it took off for their adventure.


	10. Chapter 10

TAoP Chapter 10

Out There

The ship had taken off and they were on their way to see new worlds. Illiana drove the ship again as Jayden and Max were discussing on which world to go to first. Penny sat on a chair thinking about their mission.

"Why are we going to Montressor?" Penny asked. Midnight jumped on her lap and went right to sleep.

"For us, we are going on a long journey, so because of that we need a better ship. Montressor provides us with ships that can last us a long time and we don't have to worry about repairs as much. The ship we are on now is for a quick journey," Illiana explained.

"Montressor and Fantasia trade with each other so we help them out and vice versa," Mix pitched in, listening to their conversation.

"I hope they give us a good ship! Do you think we will meet Jim Hawkins while we are there?"

"Well, first we have to meet up with Dr. Doppler, who will give us a ship. After that, we head of to Neverland so Penny can get her water," Jayden pointed out as she looked through his computer.

"Who's Jim Hawkins?" Penny asked, scratching Midnight's ears. Starlight was staring out the window pointing many of the constellations that matched the ones back home.

"Jim Hawkins is the boy who found the famous pirates treasure! He worked with Captain Jon Silver himself!" Illiana explained excitedly.

"Everyone has heard of his story. He's now training to become a captain someday," Jayden added.

"Oh…how much longer?" Penny was already bored. She could tell that this would be the hardest part of the journey.

"About five more minutes."

"Here, Penny, let me teach you some basics of sword fighting," Max offered, standing up from his chair.

Penny immediately lifted Midnight off her, but that took some time since his growth spurt. Finally, she managed it and took out her sword. Max came over to examine the blade his father has given her.

"Wow, not bad! Okay, first let me explain where we get the material from…"

"Oh! Jayden and Illiana told me that the blade won't hurt humans or animals. Only the Darkness," Penny said enthusiastically.

Max nodded, "That's right. Now where we the material to make the blade is a little tricky. Around our world there are these comets. Some of the comets hold a certain metal inside them. With this metal, we can bend it into any shape we want and this metal can stop the Darkness. We don't know why, but it is the only thing that can destroy them. All of our weapons are made from it: my sword and shield, Illiana's bullets, and even Jayden's staff has it. And now your sword has it. That's why my dad gave it to you because your dagger can't affect them. But I'd keep your dagger just in case.

"Now which hand do you use when you use your dagger?"

"Er…I use my right hand," Penny said as she reached for it.

"Okay, just like most people. Now you're gonna want to keep this on your left side so that you can reach for it easily." Max moved the dagger and replaced it with the sword. It reached down to her ankles and it weighed kinda heavy.

He handed her the dagger, "You can put it wherever you want."

"Okay…" Penny attached it to her right side next to her pouches.

"Alright, the sword is kinda like a dagger only it has a longer range…" Max continued to explain as the ship entered the new world and pulled into a harbor. There were many different kinds of ships: ships that looked like theirs and some that looked like pirate ships and their long boats.

Illiana parked the ship and they all got off. Upon the hill above them was a huge building that had a sign that read, Benbow Inn. Star hid in Penny's shirt since she had left her hat at the castle. Midnight moved closer to her side, unsure of what kind of place they landed.

So where is this friend we have to meet?" Penny questioned as they walked towards the inn. As they walked, she could feel a tickle in the back of her mind, much like the presence of a Heart. She began to notice the difference between a Heart and that of an animal's presence.

"The King sent a message ahead to have him meet us here. He usually eats here anyways," Jayden said stretching as they entered the building.

Penny gasped as she looked around. There were tons if people eating, talking and enjoying themselves in the inn. But that wasn't why she was surprised; the people weren't even people. They looked like aliens, some with tentacles and a family looked like frogs, and there was even a robot serving them.

_What are these people?_ Midnight asked as he too looked at the people as they found a place to sit.

_I'm not sure. I've never seen anything like it._ Penny stared at everyone with her mouth open until Illiana nudged her.

"It's rude to stare, Penny," she whispered to the girl.

"But, why do they look like that?" Some more people walked through the door and one couple really stood out. One was a dog wearing a long red coat and glasses perched on his nose. His companion was a cat, standing straight and wearing what looked like a captain's uniform. Penny looked them over and felt that the presence got stronger.

"I don't get what the problem is. You don't mind that Max looks weird…"

"Hey! I heard that-" Max said but then Jayden interrupted him as he spotted the couple.

"Ah! Dr. Doppler!" Jayden stood and called them over to their table.

"Jayden! I'm glad we came here on time. I hope you haven't been waiting long. Amelia and I had to find someone to watch over our little ones," the dog, Dr. Doppler, explained as he held hands with the feline. As soon as he said the name, turquoise came into Penny's mind and she flinched at the force that was behind it.

The cat looked down at her with interest, "And what is your name, small one?"

"Penny. And I bet that I smell like a forest and a deep green color comes to mind when I mention my name," Penny stated as she yawned and stretched. Midnight looked back and forth at them and immediately committed Amelia's scent to his mind. He wanted to help Penny with her mission as much as possible. Penny smiled at him as she heard his thoughts.

Amelia smile and stood up straight, "Indeed, I'm Captain Amelia and yes, I had just started to sense you for awhile now. How did you know about that?"

"Because I've been sensing you since I landed here. You are very pretty shade of turquoise."

"Wait, you felt the Heart already? There's a Heart for this world as well?" Jayden asked. He pulled out his computer to take notes and to record everything Penny tells him.

"Yup, I could feel her getting closer, so I knew she was coming."

"What's this?" Dr. Doppler asked confused.

"Nothing, Dr. Doppler. I'll explain everything later," Amelia put her hand on his shoulder with a smile, "Don't we have a fine ship to show these kids?"

"Right, of course. If you four could follow me please."

"Woah!" Penny gaped at the huge ship that stood in front of them. Star flew all around it to see how big it was, while Midnight went on board to check it out.

"Yes, nice isn't it? This is the _R.L.S Treasure. _Amelia had gotten it for you when she heard your King's request," Dr. Doppler explained as they all went to examine the ship.

"I have taken the liberty of stocking it with food and other supplies for you. Now do any of you know how to actually sail this kind of ship?" Captain Amelia asked as Penny ignored everyone and explored the ship.

The ship had two masts and many sails that were trimmed and ready to fly. There was a wheel at the end of the ship on top of an elevated level so one may sail the ship. In the lower decks, Penny found the familiar hammocks and in the room next to it, the kitchen. Further down the bottom were all of their supplies and she hoped there was enough for everyone. Penny could feel Amelia searching for her so headed back up on the deck. She found Dr. Doppler talking to the trio.

"Now then, could you explain to me why I can sense you and only you?" Amelia asked from behind.

"Oh, umm…I guess there are these people called the Heart of the World and they are very important. I believe I'm the only one that can find you guys," Penny tried to remember what Yensid was talking about, "But I do know that I'm supposed to give you a bead and you give me one back." She pulled out two beads and handed one to Amelia. With her bead, she turned it into the same green colored one just like the one she gave Minnie.

Amelia looked at the bead with interest and held hers for awhile. Just after that, she handed the bead over to Penny. It was a bright turquoise and she could see all the way into her mind. Penny tied the bead to the opposite side of Minnie's bead and felt both of their strings grow brighter.

"Make sure you keep that bead with you at all times, so we can stay in contact with each other," Penny said as the captain took Penny's bead.

"I will accept the bead and pray that I do not lose it. As you are on your travels, I hope you will be careful. I hate to see you get hurt on your first time seeing different worlds," Amelia smiled down at her, "The Darkness will not take you kindly even if you are a child."

Before Penny could reply, she walked briskly off the ship with the doctor.

"Alright, hoist the anchor! Let down those sails! We have worlds to see!" Illiana yelled out as she headed for the helm. The boys ran up to the sails and let them down as the ship rose from the harbor. Penny looked over the side and spotted the couple. She smiled and waved, thinking, _I'll be fine! I'm with my friends. I will protect the Hearts!_

When the boys came back down, they showed Penny what to do while on the ship and to trim the sails. After that lesson, she climbed the rigging to see all the stars and some other ships sail by with Starlight by her side. Midnight whined from the deck since he couldn't climb the ropes.

_No fair! I want to see what's out there!_

_ Don't worry! There are better things to see on other worlds than what is up here,_ Penny called down to him.

The boys were checking the supplies and Illiana kept course since she was the only one of her friends to study sailing. After some time, Penny noticed a world coming up and recognized the island within.

"Illiana! I spot Neverland!" She called, jumping down on the deck and running towards her.

"Of course, we have to get your water and you have to see your family," Illiana said.

"Not to mention, we have to see if you can find the Heart here," Jayden added, coming up from below the deck. Max watched the island grow larger since he was the only one that hasn't seen it yet.

Illiana landed right in Mermaid Lagoon, just like their first visit. Jayden and Max rolled out two large barrels as Penny jumped on the edge of the ship. Midnight climbed up with her, eager to see this world since he didn't see much of the last one. Star had already flown to the island, but waited for them.

Just as Penny jumped, Jayden grabbed the back of her shirt, "Woah, hold on there! There's something o have to give you." He pulled her back on the deck.

"What is it?" Penny sighed. She couldn't wait to see the Lost Boys and hopefully Peter.

"This," he pulled out a green ribbon and tied it to her neck. At the end of the ribbon was a moon and star charm, "is a little invention that I created myself. It allows you to talk to all of us, even if we are far away from you, much like your ability to talk to the Hearts and animals. I've made one for all of us." He handed one to the other two and put one on himself. Jayden's was a wrench on a blue ribbon; Illiana a flower on a purple ribbon; Max a skate board on a red ribbon.

"How does it work?" Max asked as he examined his.

"It's very simple: whenever we are separated or just want to talk privately, we touch the charm and think of the person we want to talk to. Then we can all talk as a group or separately telepathically. It requires magic so make sure you don't spend it all on the charm."

"Hmm, how clever," Illiana mumbled as she got ready to go the island.

"That's great but can I go now? Please!" Penny impatiently asked jumping up and down on the deck. Midnight barked in agreement.

Jayden sighed, "Yea, go on. But wait for us on the shore!"

Penny had already jumped in the water with Midnight as Jayden finished talking and they both swam to the shore. Once they got out, they both shook themselves dry and Midnight started to sniff around. Penny unhooked her pixie dust pouch as Star landed on her shoulder.

"Star, take Midnight and go get some more dust." Question chimes. "He can carry the pouch for you." More chimes and Star was flying, waiting.

_Midnight, can you carry this and follow Star? Make sure you don't eat anything or be any trouble,_ she knelt down to his eye level and petted his head.

_But…I don't want to leave you,_ Midnight cocked his head and whined.

_Don't worry! I'm safe here. Please? She can't carry this when it is full._

_ Okay, but don't you get into any trouble while I'm gone._ Midnight took the pouch with his mouth and followed Star into the forest.

As Penny stood, she felt a familiar presence, but different at the same time. She glanced around and Cubby came stumbling out of the woods.

"Penny! Where have you been? But, uh, more importantly, have you seen Jane?" He called out, running towards her. Midnight blue popped in her head just like when Wendy's name is mentioned.

"Who?" she asked.

"Peter brought her here and he wants to make her into a Lost Boy!"

"What?"


	11. Chapter 11

TAoP Chapter 11

Not the Only One Anymore

"What do you mean he's going to make her into a Lost Boy?" Penny asked as Cubby came to her side.

"Well, he—"

"Penny?" a voice above them asked. Looking up, they saw Peter.

"Peter!" Penny called up to him and waved.

"Where have you been?" he landed next to them. Penny ran up to him, eagerly, and gave him a tight hug. "Whoa, good to see you too."

"Oh Peter! You have no idea how much I missed you…" Penny began as the other three came to shore on a smaller boat.

"Who are they?"

"They're the ones that took Penny away!" Cubby yelled before Penny could say anything.

"What! I'll take care of them! C'mon, you cowards!" Peter crowed as the three got off of the boat. He flew towards them with is dagger in front. Max pushed Illiana away and took his shield from his back. The dagger and shield met and Peter continued to fly over them.

"Stop it! Peter!" Penny yelled as Jayden took out his staff. "They're my friends!"

Peter flew higher and dived straight down on them. Penny got ready from the ground, waiting for the right moment. As he got closer to the group, Penny jumped in his way and tackled him to the ground. They fell in a pile and Peter's dagger flew from his hand.

"Ow, Penny, what was that for?" Peter said angrily from underneath her arm.

"If you listened to me, you wouldn't be here," Penny stated simply, not moving off. "Okay, let me explain: These are my friends. I'm helping them. I need Never water and Star has to replenish her dust. So here I am, back to get some stuff. And I find that you want to make a girl a Lost Boy!"

"Oh…well, we need her to believe. Tink's in—" Peter started when they heard a girl's voice calling his name, "And that would be her!" He pushed Penny without another thought and flew away. Cubby also followed without looking back.

Penny laid there in shock. _How could he replace me like that?_ Midnight tried to talk to her, but she ignored him.

"What was all that about? Why did he attack us?" Illiana asked putting her guns away. The boys were pulling out the barrels and talking about what happened. "You okay?" Illiana stood over Penny.

"Why? Why did he bring another girl here?" Penny yelled, nearly causing the guys to drop their bundle. "And not just any girl, but a Heart, I think."

"Wait, the Wendy lady?" Illiana was shocked, "Do you sense her?"

"Well, it isn't exactly like the Wendy lady. It is the same color, but she's different."

"Different how?"

"You found another Heart? I thought they were rare," Jayden came into the conversation.

"What is a Heart anyway? Master Yensid didn't quite explain it well," Penny asked curiously, trying to get the betrayal out of her head.

"Well, umm, from what we understand, they protect the world. Remember when I explained that people have Hope and Belief in order to stop the Darkness? According to the legend, Hope and Belief is what helps prevent the Darkness and the Heart of the World uses this to create a safe place. Without the Heart, the world would be unstable. We always believed the Hearts would be the ruling class, but you disproved that with Captain Amelia."

"We also don't know who would have it. Like would it be males or females. Whoever it would be, they would have to have a strong will in order to use that much power. So far, it seems to be females," Max added, looking at his shield to see if there were any marks.

"Do these Hearts know they have this ability?" Penny was full of questions and this way it would distract her from what happened. "You can continue to talk as we head to the spring."

They walked under the cool canopy of the trees. Every plant, tree, and flower sang as they welcomed Penny back. Birds came from every direction, excited to learn that their friend was back safe. Some even landed on her shoulder, chirping so many stories that Penny's head started to hurt. She apologized to them saying she was here on a mission and she couldn't listen to their stories. They quieted down and sang in hushed tones.

The trio pondered the question as they watched the birds and Penny. From what they know from their classes, everything was mostly guess work and theories. They actually never believed the Hearts existed until they met Penny.

"Like we said before Penny: Nobody really knows much about the Hearts," Jayden stated clearly.

"That's probably why the King put us on this mission," Max added as they got closer to the spring.

"Oh, I suppose so…" Penny thought. She knelt down by the spring for a drink. It was surprisingly cold with the weather being so warm. Once she took a drink, Penny could already feel the effects taking place. They boys were collecting to water (being careful not to touch any of it) when Star and Midnight came back. Starlight started tinkling away about how all the fairies were talking about the new girl Peter brought back. Penny glared at her as Midnight came over with the pouch.

_They wouldn't stop talking! It was so annoying,_ Midnight complained when she grabbed the pouch.

_I'm sorry. Fairies love to gossip. Plus, Star has been gone for a long time._ Penny checked out the dust and found a fair amount in there. It should last for awhile, depending on what she used it for.

"Now about the Heart…" Illiana started.

"I don't want to meet this one," Penny stiffened as she thought about it.

"But, Penny, you have to. She 's a Heart," Max said, confused at her reaction.

"Can't we get her later? If she's anything like the Wendy lady then she'll never want to leave."

"Well, we do have the water. And we can visit this place anytime," Jayden tried to reason.

"See? So can we go? There are many other worlds out there for us to see," Penny walked quickly away from them and headed towards the Lagoon. Midnight and Star followed without a second thought. Illiana, Jayden, and Max looked at each other, shrugged, and followed.

When they got back to the ship, Penny had already got everything ready for Illiana. Nobody talked as they headed out of the world. Penny watched her island grow smaller for a second time.

_Do you think they actually missed me at all?_ Penny asked Midnight.

He sat in silence as he thought. Finally, he said, slowly, _I'm sure they did, but from what I observed, you live a world where everything can be easily forgotten._

Penny looked down at him in surprise, _You're growing older._ Her tone was accusing.

_I don't have to grow older. If I drink your water, I'll stay the same. However, I want to get somewhat bigger so I can protect you._ He licked her face in reassurance.

She laughed and hugged him as Jayden walked up to her.

"Hey, why don't you go to sleep? It's been awhile since you slept. We'll wake you up when we get somewhere."

Penny headed down to the cabins with Midnight. She eased herself into a hammock while Midnight laid down close to her as he could. He would be there by her side as long as she wanted him.


	12. Chapter 12

TAoP Chapter 12

The Sandy World

To Penny, it felt like she just went to sleep when Max shook her awake. She looked up groggily at him and rubbed her eyes.

"Hey, we're close to the world now. And we have food on the table," Max called as he headed out of the room. Starlight flew in and sat on her head, chiming about all the stars she missed. Midnight shook himself awake, yawning widely and stretching. They both stumbled out if the room and into the kitchen where Jayden was cooking and Illiana was setting the table.

"Ah, Penny! Just in time! Are you hungry?" Jayden asked, juggling food and placing them on the table. "Wait, what am I asking for? Of course you are!" he laughed at his own joke as he got coffee.

Illiana swatted him with a napkin, "That wasn't funny. Penny is a growing girl; she needs her food. Well, maybe not exactly growing…but you get what I mean!"

Penny sat down at the table, still rubbing her eyes. Star flew from her head to the table where they made a special table for the fairy with her own food. Before Illiana sat down, she placed bacon and other kinds of food in front of Midnight. He sniffed the food, barked in thanks, and wolfed down the food as if he hasn't eaten in days. Max and Jayden were discussing about Penny's eating habits when Illiana sat down with her own food. Glancing over at the girl, she found her eating her eggs with her hands.

"Penny! Use a fork!" Illiana pointed it out with her own. Penny stared as if it was a foreign object, which to her, it was.

"What do I do with it?" she asked, grabbing it like a shovel.

"Here, I'll show you." Thus began more lessons for Penny.

After they finished eating, Penny ran up the deck to see the world. All she could see, though, was sand. Just yellow sand all around the world as if there was nothing else on it.

"What kind of world is that?" she asked as Max came up too.

"That's what we're gonna find out. Here take this," he handed her a canteen filled to the brim with water. "We don't know how much traveling we're gonna have to do, so keep this with you and drink sparingly."

She put it around her shoulders when the other two and Star came up. Jayden and Illiana were wearing cloaks over their clothes. The cloaks were plain brown made with a rough material. Illiana carried two more on her arm. She handed one to Max and the other to Penny.

"What are these for?"

"These are to protect us from the sun," Illiana explained. "We don't want to get over heated or sunburnt. Penny put it on and found that it went all the way down to her feet.

"Oh man, we forgot about shoes for Penny," Jayden smacked his forehead.

"It's okay, I'm fine. I don't like shoes anyway," she said, making a face at the word shoes.

"Fine, but don't complain. Are we ready?" Everyone nodded. "Okay, we leave in 3-2-1!" Jayden waved his staff and a bright light circled around them. In a flash, they were standing in the middle of the desert with no sense of direction.

"Great job Jayden. Now which way do we go?" Max asked, looking around to see if anyone else was with them. But it was silent and hot. Midnight whined as the sun beat down on them. Penny tried to create a shadow for him, but it didn't work out.

"That is an excellent question. But since we don't know what world this is, we have no knowledge on where a town might be," Jayden was looking at his computer.

"Fantastic! We might be here forever!" Illiana cried out, flinging her hands in the air. "We can't wonder the desert forever."

"You know we could follow these tracks or follow the faint presence I feel," Penny suggested as she knelt down to examine them. When they first landed, she felt what she believed to be a Heart, but wasn't so sure.

"You feel a Heart?"

"Maybe. It's really faint though."

Max knelt down next to her, looking at the tracks, "Well, since we are in the desert, these tracks might belong to a camel. These could lead us to a town."

"What are we waiting for?" Illiana started to follow them briskly. Everyone else fell in behind her, eager to get out of the heat.

After about two hours of walking, or in Penny's case hovering, they finally arrived to a town. In the town, there was a bazaar filled with venders and people. They were selling all sorts of things—food, pottery, and jewelry—anything to gain people's attention. The people were wearing shabby clothes with patches and tears on them. Some of the men wore giant swords on their waist.

Jayden leaned down towards Penny, "Okay, whatever happens, you don't leave our side. And don't touch anything! Got it?" Silence. "Penny?" He looked and she was nowhere to be seen. "Ah man!"

"You lost her!" Illiana looked too and couldn't find her, not with so many people all packed in one place.

Finally, Max was the one to spot her, "There she is! By the apples!"

Once they made it to the town, Penny immediately spotted the apples. There were bright red and calling out to her. With her mouth watering, she nudged Midnight and together they headed towards the stand. There was a big guy working at it, calling out about the apples and drawing a crowd to buy them. Penny crouched down on the side of the stand and reached up for one, looking around to make sure nobody was watching. She had picked up two when the man finally caught her.

"THIEF! Get away from my apples!" He yelled, grabbing her left hand and pulling her up.

"OUCH! Let go! I'll put them back!" Penny cried as she tried to break free. Midnight was barking and growling, gaining the attention of every person in the bazaar.

"Do you know what the penalty for stealing is?" The man asked as he put his face close to hers, tightening his grip.

"Tch!" Penny grimaced in pain, wishing he would let go. Her arm felt like it was breaking. Right as she said that, the man let go immediately and grabbed his own hand.

"AHH! He burned me! That street rat burned me!"

Penny looked down at her hand and saw it had a red glove. Without a second thought, she grabbed her two apples and ran.

_C'mon, Midnight! Before he tries again!_

The two of them ran down the bazaar, pushing people out of the way, and still hearing the man yell "THIEF!" Glancing behind her, she found three new men chasing her with their swords out. They were also calling her to stop and thief. Still Penny ran and jumped into an alley. It was a dead end and the men were closing in.

_Quick, hide here! I'll lure them off!_ She pushed Midnight behind a crate. Looking around, she realized she could reach the top of the building if she climbed the tent that was over the crates. As she was on the tent, two of the men came into the alley.

"Stop! You won't get away from us!"

Penny gripped the edge of the building the slowly pulled herself up. She sat on the edge, panting a bit, and then continued running on top of the crumbling building. As she reached the other edge, she realized she wouldn't make it to the other building without Star's help. But she didn't have the fairy with her at this moment.

"Tch!" Penny turned back around only to find the men also on the building, blocking her way. "Oh come off it! Gimmie a break!"

Seeing no other choice, she jumped into the next alley. She managed to grab an edge on a window but her fingers slipped from her weight and the speed. Penny landed heavily on her right shoulder.

"Erg!" She grasped her shoulder and started to run again when she ran into something very solid. Falling backwards, Penny found herself right in front of the biggest man she has ever seen!

He reached down, grasping the front of her shirt. Pulling her up until their faces met, he smiled and Penny couldn't help noticing he was missing a tooth. "Gotcha, street rat."

Jayden, Illiana, and Max took a break from running since they couldn't see where Penny went. All three of them were breathless and lost.

"Where in the world could she have gone?" Illiana asked, barely getting the words out.

"How could you lose her?" Max gasped at the same time with his hands on his knees. "If she keeps doing this, I'm gonna have to work out more."

"What do you want me to do? Keep a leash on her?" Jayden panted out. He leaned heavily against the side of the building. "Besides, doesn't she have Star with her? She'll be fine."

"Uhhh…actually, Star's with me. She kept switching between the two of us while we were walking and she stayed with me ever since," Illiana said guiltily as Star flew out of her cloak.

"Oh great! Wait, what about Midnight? She's totally fine!" Midnight came around the corner as soon as he said that. The wolf had found their scent and was tracking them, hoping they had found the Lost Girl. He sat down next to Jayden, panting. The three of them stared at him and sat down in panic.

"Okay, okay. Nobody panic! We can find her. She could not have left this world. That's really the only positive thing about this."

"What about the Darkness? What if they are here and took Penny?" Illiana asked, fiddling with her guns. She had to take off her cloak because of the heat.

"We haven't had any sightings of them, so we should be fine…" Max answered as they heard people screaming from the bazaar. He stuck his head around the corner and saw people running.

"Demons! Where did they come from!"

Behind the people were these black, shadow creatures jumping around. They looked like the people only longer and more twisted looking. Their eyes were completely black.

"Shadows!" Max yelled as he ripped his cloak off and pulled out his sword attacking the nearest one.

Jayden and Illiana joined in the fight. Illiana's guns were flashing and popping, knocking down the Shadows as Max cut them in half to make them disappear. Jayden had managed to find a barrel of water and used that to knock them over. With a wave of his staff, he froze them to the ground. Seeing they were surrounded, he put his hands together, his staff in his left hand, and created a fireball. Jayden threw it at the Shadows behind the group and they caught on fire. He had finally managed to take off his glasses and replace them with is goggles. Illiana backed him up, shooting at all the nearest Shadows so they wouldn't distract the boy.

"What about Penny?" Illiana yelled. Midnight had joined in the fight and was attacking majority of the creatures.

"We'll get her later! We have to get rid of all of them first!"

Penny turned to look behind her, think she heard someone screaming in the distance. She immediately got her head smacked and stumbled on the stone steps. Her hands were chained behind her back.

"Keep moving, street rat. You have to receive your punishment," the head guard, Razoul, growled. They continued up the stairs to a huge palace.

"So, am I allowed to know what's going to happen to me?" she asked hesitantly, watching his hand and trying to contact Midnight. So far, not so good.

"The sultan has taken an interest in the street rats since our dear Princess has decided to marry one."

_Oh great. Hopefully, they will find me before all of this happens,_ Penny wished as they came to a stop in front of a huge door.


	13. Chapter 13

**So just out of curiosity, how people actually read this? Because if no one is, I'm going to take it off. I didn't include this but I clearly don't own any of the Disney characters. Just Penny, Midnight, Starlight, Jayden, Illiana, Ace, and Joss. Please review and I will continue to write this. **

TAoP Chapter 13

The Princess of Agrabah and Shadows

The doors groaned open and Razoul shoved Penny through the doors. Once inside, she did a double take on the room. It was nearly as large as her island. She could hardly see the roof of the palace but it was light and airy. There were designs on the walls, the pillars, everything the artist could touch. Pillars were as large as trees and a perfect white.

"Woah! And I thought the castle was amazing," Penny gasped, receiving another smack in the head.

"Move it. The Sultan doesn't have all day for this," Razoul pushed her.

Moving down the hallway, the group arrived in front of the throne. It looked like an elephant's head with the tusks as armrests. The area was empty and they stood in an uncomfortable silence. After a few minutes of that, small hurried footsteps echoed through the hall. A little man entered with a curious expressing. He had a large white hat, which was too big for him, and a white robe.

"Razoul, what happened this time?" he asked, sitting in the chair. The guards kneeled to him and dragged Penny with them.

"Your Highness, we found this street rat stealing apples from an honest vender," the guard explained. As he talked, Penny felt the presence getting stronger and it had the similar feeling of a Heart. Hearing more footsteps, she glanced up to see that is was a girl and a boy. The girl had long black hair that was braided. Her clothes were green and she had a jewel in her head band. The boy looked more like the people in the bazaar; he only wore a vest with some pants that were old and torn. On his shoulder was a monkey.

"I see, Razoul, but was it necessary to tie up the lad?" the Sultan asked.

"Well, Your Highness, he did try to escape."

"And hurt my arm while doing it," Penny said turning to look at him. The couple stood behind the small man, looking at her. The girl had a puzzled expression; the boy was amused.

"Yes, well, why don't you tell us your story then, my boy."

"You see, sir, I have been traveling an awful long time with my friends. We finally arrived here in…ummm…" she hesitated.

"Agrabah," the girl said.

"Right, Agrabah. Anyways, I saw these apples and I lost myself. I needed something to eat."

"Poor kid. Do you have any parents back where you are from?" the boy asked taking an interest in her.

Penny scowled at the question, "Haven't got any parents. I don't know who they are."

"Oh!" the girl gasped and reached out as if to comfort her, but she drew her hand back.

"Release the boy. He won't do anything," the Sultan ordered.

Razoul grumbled as he took the key from his waist and unlocked the chains. Penny rubbed her wrists and carefully touched her charm necklace.

_Jayden? Illiana? Max? Anyone?_ Nobody answered.

"Father, don't you think you can give him a second chance? He doesn't seem like a bad kid," the girl pleaded to the Sultan.

"I suppose I could, Jasmine, but what could he do?" Penny flinched and the color of an emerald came to mind. The string glowed bright as the name was being said. She had found another Heart.

Penny was about to give a suggestion when a guard burst into the room. He was breathless with sweat dropping from his face. People's screams followed him into the room before the door shut behind him.

"Your Highness, there are demons in the village! Three children are fighting them, but there are some coming this way! We don't know where they came from!"

Just then, the door burst open again and Shadows poured into the room. Razoul and the other guards charged at them with their swords flying into action. Penny jumped in front of Jasmine, flinging off her cloak and grabbing her sword. The boy did the same thing, only he pulled a lamp out instead of a weapon.

"Don't worry, princess, I'll protect you!" they both exclaimed at the same time. The boy gave Penny a confused look, but she only had eyes for the Shadows. None of the guards could defeat them and they overwhelmed them in numbers.

"Genie, get rid of them!" the boy called as he rubbed the lamp.

"Ah, Al, this is supposed to be my break. Didn't we agree on what times you could—what are those?" a big, blue man floated from the lamp said as he saw what was happening.

"They're called Shadows. Now take the Princess and get out of here!" Penny explained, tightening her grip on the sword. _Time to put my skills to the test._ Her right shoulder still hurt a bit from the fall; not to mention her side from Ace's kick still bothered her.

"Shadows? Where have I heard that before? Anyway, let's see what I can do." The genie snapped his fingers and made duplicates of himself. They all threw themselves at the Shadows engaging them in a fight.

Aladdin glanced at Penny, "Don't worry, Genie can handle them," he said so confidently.

"Aladdin!" Jasmine pointed behind them. A couple of Shadows had snuck in the back way and were making their way toward them.

"Back away!" Penny pulled Jasmine out of the way, swinging her sword. She managed to destroy one, but others were coming. When she looked behind to make sure the princess was safe, one of the creatures knocked her to the ground; her sword flew out of her hand.

"Ooof!" Penny looked up to the pitch black eyes. Its long fingers reached behind her while the other one held her down. Looking back, she saw it was reaching for her shadow. Penny panicked and fumbled for her sword, but it was out of reach. The fingers were closing in on her shadow when she waved her right hand to try to get it off her, closing her eyes in concentration. After a few seconds, nothing happened, so she slowly opened one eye. The Shadow was frozen above her. Penny kicked it off her and rolled to get her sword.

_Penny?_ A voice in her head asked.

_Jayden? Where are you guys?_ She continued to fight, but she was losing. She went behind a pillar to talk with any distractions.

_In the bazaar. We were fighting Shadows._

_ There are Shadows here in the palace. They are after the Heart…I think._

_ Okay, we're on our way._ Jayden ended the conversation abruptly.

Penny was coming back to the fight when she heard screaming. Jasmine was being dragged by Shadow. Everyone else was too busy to notice, so she followed quickly. The Shadows moved fast and Penny was tired from everything that happened this morning. She managed to catch up only to find it about to jump from the balcony. She put in a final burst of speed and sliced the Shadow in half, but the princess was falling off the edge. Penny quickly grabbed her hand and held on, lying down on the balcony. She dropped her sword to try to get a better grip, but she wasn't strong enough.

"Hold on! I'll get you out," she assured Jasmine, except her hand was slipping.

"Please don't let go," Jasmine pleaded, trying to get her other hand on the edge. But it was too late, Jasmine was too heavy for the girl and she started to fall. Without thinking, Penny jumped after her and grabbed her. As if on cue, Starlight flew around the girls and Penny immediately started to fly with the princess in her arms. They landed on the ground hard, but they were safe.

As Penny got up, Midnight came from nowhere and jumped her, growling.

_Never ever leave me behind again. Didn't I promise I would protect you?_ He snarled angrily at the girl, showing teeth.

Penny, losing her breath from his weight, tried to talk but he wouldn't let her.

_Look at how much trouble you caused. Just like a pup. What were you thinking? Don't you know how much the others worried about you?_

_ You are still a pup, so don't you dare talk about that! _Penny argued back.

Star was also chiming rude comments at her, so Penny tried to talk over her, but she was being lifted up.

"What were thinking? Why did you leave?" Jayden yelled at her as he held her at arm's length.

"You could've died! A fall like that, not even you could survive," Max said, scowling at her.

"You are not to leave our sight. And you are to bring Star or Midnight wherever you go," Illiana added looking her over.

"What were you doing?"

"She was saving me," a quiet voice said behind Penny. Jasmine stood up from the ground, dusting herself. The trio looked questionably at her and back at Penny.

"One of those creatures was dragging me off. Everyone was busy fighting, so she came to my rescue. She was also protecting me from them whenever they tried to get near," she continued. Looking at Penny, she asked, "You are truly a female and special. It isn't a coincidence that you came to the palace was it?"

Penny shook her head, "No, it wasn't. My name is Penny. I am a protector of the Hearts. I've been searching for you since I've arrived here. These are my friends: Jayden, Illiana, and Max. Those creatures are looking for the Heart of the World, which you are."

"What is—"

"Jasmine!" a voice called down to them from the balcony. Aladdin stood there and jumped down. A carpet flew at him and they drifted down to the ground. He hugged Jasmine tight. "Are you hurt? What were those things?"

As Jasmine talked to him, Illiana continued to look over Penny, "You got hurt." She took off her glove and started to heal Penny's shoulder.

"It doesn't hurt that bad," Penny winced as her shoulder was fixed, "You might want to look at my side too. That started to act up a bit."

Midnight still growled at her as he sat beside her. He was clearly never going to forgive her for a long time. Star had bitten her ear in anger and sat on Illiana's shoulder.

Penny sighed, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to run off like that or leave you behind. I acted out of impulse. I was getting hungry…"

"Again with the food. You act like we never feed you," Max said.

"I might have an idea of why she needs food, but there is no way to prove that. I finally figured out where we are. Agrabah, a town in the middle of the desert. It is run by the Sultan along with his daughter, the princess. And it goes on about the history and stuff," Jayden stated looking at his computer. "In any case, we should stay here for awhile until someone else arrives. I'll send a note back home about what happened."

"Okay, we should find a place to stay until then," Illiana finished up with the healing.

"If you want, you are welcome to stay at the palace," Jasmine offered.

"What? Do you think it will be alright?" Aladdin said cautiously, "We don't know anything about them."

"This girl saved me. I can as least owe her this much. And a decent meal, besides apples."

Penny stared in awe with the pile of food that was sitting on the table. It was a feast fit for a king. The others sat around the table talking about their plan as Penny helped herself to some food. True to his word, Midnight has not left her side since they meet back up and Penny didn't mind at all. Jasmine sat next to the girl in fascination.

"Are there other Hearts than me?" she asked.

"Yup, see these beads? These are the Hearts I found so far. I'm going to have to add yours up there too." Penny took out two beads and explained what to do. Soon, she was tying the emerald bead when Aladdin and Genie walked in.

"Wow, make sure you leave some for the rest," Genie said, pointing to Penny's plate. The food disappeared as she reached for more. She scowled, but waited patiently for everyone else to eat.

"So why do you think I eat so much Jayden?" Penny asked across the table.

"Well, at first, I thought it had to do with your growth spurt you had. But then I remembered reading something out of a magic book that had to do with energy. When someone has magical power, it feeds off their energy. Some people have to sleep it off while others drink special potions to keep their energy. You might have to keep eating in order to make sure your magic doesn't get out of hand," Jayden explained, cutting into his meat and pondering.

"Aha…"

"I'll test this out tomorrow when I give you lessons. I shouldn't have put them off this late, but with everything that has happened I didn't have the time."

"Not to mention you need to have more sword lessons. Shadows will be popping up everywhere now that we are traveling farther from Fantasia," Max added.

"Great, lessons…" Penny mumbled.

"Our guest rooms are ready whenever they want to sleep," Aladdin said trying to gain the attention from Jasmine, who was listening to their conversation intently.

"Oh alright, I will show you to your rooms if you would like," Jasmine offered.

"A good night's sleep is just what I need after a fight," Illiana yawned and stretched. The boys agreed, but Penny didn't have enough food yet.

"You guys go ahead. I'm gonna eat a little bit more."

As the others left, a parrot came into the room followed by the monkey that was on Aladdin's shoulder earlier.

"Who are all these people and why have they eaten all the food?" he squawked landing on the table. The monkey was stuffing food in his mouth and chattering away.

"Abu! Don't eat so much. These are Jasmine's guests. They might be staying with us for awhile," Aladdin explained.

"Well, there's a surprise. Since when have we taken guests?"

They talked for some time and Penny grew bored. She had finally eaten her fill when the day's excitement was taking its toll on her. She was nodding to sleep when Jasmine came back. The girl didn't even remember going to a room with a bed when she drifted to a dreamless sleep.


	14. Chapter 14

TAoP Chapter 14

Lesson, Lessons and More Lessons

_Clang-clang!_ The sound of metal hitting metal echoed through the courtyard as the sun rose higher in the sky. Penny stood on the grassy ground sweating and panting, her sword gleaming in the sunlight. Her legs and arms wobbled from the unaccustomed weight, but she was not complaining. She was eager to learn more about the sword. She watched Max on the other side to see what he would do. Max was holding his sword and shield thinking of a good strategy. He was also enjoying this since he needed the practice and didn't mind teaching. He gave a warning cry as he lounged towards the girl. Penny lifted her sword to meet his, engaging him in a mock battle.

Illiana and Jayden sat in the shade, slightly watching them, but doing their own thing. Illiana was making sure her guns were primed and ready in case of an emergency. She was also listening to the fairy, who sat on her shoulder chime away as if everyone could understand her. Jayden had his computer out, making sure that his note sent to the other warriors. Beside him was the cube he was working on back on Fantasia and the blueprints. He nearly figured out what he had to fix, but he had to work on what he was going to teach Penny.

Midnight was lying down in the grass, a little bit away from the group. He was watching the green-eyed girl like a hawk, making sure she didn't run off again. He was also making sure she didn't get too hurt; he knew the sword wouldn't her much, but they did leave a bruise of hit hard enough. The wolf twitched when Penny's leg got hit with Max's shield.

"Ouch! You didn't have to hit that hard!" Penny cried, rubbing her sore leg. It hurt worse than her shoulder yesterday.

"C'mon Penny, how are you supposed to learn if you don't get hurt once in awhile?" Max asked as he took a drink of water. He tossed Penny her canteen and they took a small break. "Besides, what happens if you're not fighting Shadows or any of the Darkness? You have to learn how to protect yourself and the Hearts."

Penny gulped down the water, thinking over what he said, "Who else would I fight id it's not the Darkness?" She sat next to Midnight and scratched under his head. He licked her hand when it came close to his muzzle.

_You are learning a lot. But you should listen to what Max says, _he said wisely. He had gone through another growth spurt and was now at Penny's waist. Midnight told her he was at his ideal height and size, so he started drinking the Never water today.

Penny grinned down at him as Max answered her question, "Well, considering the Hearts seem to be princess, people might want to take them. It's a weird royal family thing. Every world has a problem with it. And you have to protect them from anything."

Jasmine came into the courtyard with a bowl of fruit. Aladdin, Abu, and Iago (Penny learned his name this morning) were with her. She walked over to Penny giving her the bowl.

"Here, I figured you'd be hungry after a workout like that."

Penny automatically reached for the apples and tossed one to Midnight, "Thanks. This is just what I needed before lunch."

"Seriously, you just had breakfast. Where does it all go?" Iago called landing next to them.

"Iago! Don't be rude. She is welcome to eat as much as she likes."

After a while, Penny and Max went back to practicing. This time everyone was watching. Penny could feel Jasmine's concern and admiration as she blocked Max. She could also feel Minnie and Amelia check up on her. Since she wasn't used to people in her head, Penny got distracted and her arm was hit.

"Pay attention! An enemy can tell when you're distracted and use that against you," Max barked out as he continued to attack.

"It's not my fault! The Hearts should learn to hide their emotions better," she grunted, barely getting out of the way of the sword.

They continued to practice for an hour when Max finally called it quits. Penny slumped to the ground, exhausted and ready for this day to be over with.

"Not bad for your first time. We'll do this every day for an hour. This way, you can easily catch up with me in no time," Max announced, walking back to the palace.

She groaned as Illiana came over. She gently healed the girl's wounds as she gave her a few pointers. Jasmine also joined with a wet cloth. The princess put the cloth on the back of Penny's neck, cooling her down.

"Am I too distracting? I can easily go to the palace if I am."

"No, it has nothing with you being here. It's your thoughts and feelings, I can hear them in my head, so I immediately focus on them to make sure you are alright. It also doesn't help if you all check on me at the same time," Penny explained, stretching out her healed arms and legs. They all headed back to the palace for lunch, leaving Aladdin in the courtyard with a scowl on his face.

After a hardy lunch, Penny went back to the court yard alone for her magic lesson. Max was going to the polish and make sure their weapons were alright from the fight. He was then going to patrol the town to see if there were any more Shadows out there. Illiana had taken over the computer duties and decided to watch it in the cool room of the palace. Midnight fell asleep in the shade because of the heat. His fur was not helping him cool down and he didn't want to waste any energy.

Penny sat on the edge of the water fountain watching the small fish swim. She dipped her right hand in there, swirling it around. She wasn't really focusing on what she was doing until Jayden caught her hand.

"Watch it! You can't daydream when you do that," he frowned at her.

"Huh, what?" she looked down and found a mini whirlpool. "Oh!"

"Don't worry, I got it." Jayden waved his staff and the water settled back to being calm. "So your first lesson would have to be control." He sat next to her, putting a book between them.

"Alright, now to begin. Let's see…your magic is different than mine, so this should be interesting. Not to mention difficult, but where's the fun in that?

"Magic comes from our imagination. We visualize what we want depending on what resources we have. Take yesterday and an example: I found a water barrel at the bazaar so I used it to freeze the Shadows. I'm not a powerful elemental user so I, unfortunately, cannot create water. I can create a small fireball though, but it takes tons of my energy. It isn't powerful but it can stop the Shadows."

"But Donald managed to create a water ball," Penny pointed out.

"Yes, he is a powerful magician so he can. Plus, his main power is focused on water, but he can do other things as well. See, my powers are more for transforming arts. I can turn one object into another. I can even turn people into another person." He waved his hand over the book and it turned into a stick; a stick to a rock; a rock back to a book.

Penny gasped, picking up the book to see if it is different, but it was a plain old book. Nothing special about it at all.

"You can do this to people?"

"In some worlds, humans do not occupy the worlds, so we would have to blend in with everyone else. It helps if a group member could do this, but it isn't required.

"Now to continue, all magic has a price to pay. It costs energy to create even the simplest spell. That's why we will practice for a little bit each day so we can get stronger. I still practice for about an hour a day so that my powers can grow and be able to protect the group. Today, however, I just want to see what you can do and I'll see what I should teach you," Jayden concluded, looking excited.

"Er, well, yesterday I froze a Shadow that had me pinned down, but there was no water near me. Also, I think I burned the apple vender when he caught me," Penny pondered looking at the water.

"You burned him and froze an enemy? Interesting, remember what Master Yensid said? You accepted two elemental magicks, one in each hand. You must be able to only use one certain magic depending on which hand you use," he thought for awhile and looked at the fountain. "Could you try to create another whirlpool, but this time with your left hand?"

"But I don't even know how I did it in the first place."

"Please try."

Penny looked at the water and put in her left hand in. She let her mind wonder as she swirled her hand around. She was completely gone until Jayden tried to grab her arm, but it was too hot.

"Ouch! Penny, stop! I think I know what you can do!"

Penny blinked and looked in the water expecting to see a whirlpool. Instead, there were bubbles coming up from the bottom and Jayden cradling his hand.

"What happened?" she asked as she reached for his hand, but he flinched back. Hurt, Penny backed away.

"You boiled the water. My theory was right. Since it was your left hand that accepted the fire, you can only use fire attacks and magic with that hand. It's amazing really. I've never heard or read anything like it." Jayden looked at his hand. It was bright red and it stung like crazy. "I'll have Illiana look at this. We're going to have to remember to only grab your right hand until you can control the fire."

"Why couldn't I feel the heat?" Penny felt bad for hurting, but she stayed where she was.

"My guess it because is because it is your magic. Plus it's from inside you and your hand accepted it making you immune to your own magic. Or maybe it's because your right side is water and they balance you out. You are quite the puzzle Penny."

He sat there thinking as Illiana came outside with the computer, "Jay, we got a message. Someone's coming…what happened?" she grabbed his hand to examine it.

"Oh it's nothing. Just an experiment and I miscalculated what would happen. You know, the usual things," Jayden explained as Illiana healed him.

"If I'd known I was going to heal this many times a day, I would've practiced more."

"It's fine, you're a wonderful healer," he smiled at Illiana, who slightly reddened. He seemed to remember Penny, because he glanced at her and said, "We are finished with lessons for the day. I have to see how to teach you."

Penny nodded and headed back to the palace with Midnight. Star had finally found them and joined as they passed a room. The girl sulked as they wondered the hallways, not really noticing where they were going.

Midnight whined, _It will be fine. He said he was alright. Plus Illiana was healing him._

_ I still shouldn't have burned him. What happens I burn a Heart or you? These powers are the worst!_

They continued to walk in silence, until they heard a voice arguing with someone. They looked at each other a cautiously walked the rest of the way. The voice was in front of a very impressive door with a large lock on the handle.

"Okay, monkey, all you have to so is unlock the door and we can have some of the treasure," Iago tried to reason to Abu. They both stood in front of the door, looking at it, so they didn't see Penny or Midnight. Star flew in Penny's shirt to hide.

The monkey chattered, clearly not liking the idea. Penny learned that she couldn't understand what he was saying.

_Do you think it has to do with language? Like he doesn't talk like the birds back home and you? _She asked Midnight.

_It might. Or with familiarity? Since you are used to my presence and those of the animals on your island could have to do with it, _Midnight thought.

"Hey! What are you two doing her? This place is restricted!" Iago shouted when he finally spotted them.

"Oh, we were just passing by," Penny answered casually. "If this place is restricted, then why are you here?"

"Ah, well, you see, someone has to keep the treasure room safe."

"And you think that taking it will keep it safe? Besides, how would you open it anyway? It's locked."

"My friend Abu here can unlock any door with his trusty tools." Iago put his wing around Abu as if they were close friends. Abu grumbled and shook it off.

"You can pick locks?" Penny thought about it. It seemed to be a handy skill to learn. She grinned mischievously causing Midnight to be alarmed.

_What are you thinking?_

_ Oh, nothing! Just might be a neat trick to learn._

She knelt down to Abu, "Do you think you could teach me? This could come in handy someday."

Abu looked shocked, but he agreed.

Two hours of yet another lesson and Iago trying to translate what Abu was saying, Penny was ready for some dinner. The lock picking were great since she was a fast learner. She learned how to pick doors, chains, and sort of lock that they happened to find. All she needed now was her own set of picks, but she didn't know where to get them. Midnight and Star strongly disapproved the idea, but Penny wouldn't listen to them. She was willing to learn everything she can if it would help protect the Hearts.

As they walked, Penny could sense Jasmine looking for her, so immediately turned down into the next hallway to meet up with her. The palace was more confusing than the castle, so any help was welcome. She spotted the princess and waves.

"Hey Jasmine, is dinner ready? I'm starving!" Penny crowed.

"I'm sorry, Penny, but it seems like you guys are going," Jasmine said sadly.

"What? Already? But we just got here."

"I know, but the other warriors arrived. That's where the other three are, I came to find you."

Penny's shoulders dropped, "Okay, I guess it's time to go."

Jasmine put her hand on the girl's right shoulder, "Don't worry. We can always talk. Not to mention you are always welcomed here."

"Thanks. I'm sure the others would be happy to hear that."

Jasmine smiled, "We are supposed to meet them in the throne room."


	15. Chapter 15

TAoP Chapter 15

Sidetracked

The two girls walked, not too fast, but not too slow either, to the throne room. Neither of them wanted to separate but Penny knew there are other Hearts waiting for her. Plus, they will always be in contact , so it wouldn't be that bad. Jasmine was talking about the supplies she gave them when they made it to the room.

"There you are Penny! We were about the send out a search party for you." Jayden said. He said it kinda nervously and Penny could see why: Joss and Ace were the ones who picked up the call. Midnight growled menacingly at the boy who kicked her.

_Hush, they're our allies,_ Penny reminded him.

_Just because they are does not mean I can like them. Anyone who hurts you is not my friend, _Midnight said back.

She put her hand on his neck just in case she had to restrain him. As they got closer to the group, they found Max and Illiana just as upset as Midnight. They frowned at the two boys, barely hiding their hate.

"So there were some Shadows here and you, what, couldn't handle them?" Ace mocked.

Illiana was about to retort when she heard in her head, _Cool it guys. We need them to check out this place before we can move on._ Jayden had his hand on his charm and was talking to the whole group.

"Nothing like that at all, Ace. We just have to travel to the next world, but we didn't want to leave these folks to deal with it," Jayden said politely.

Ace smirked but didn't say anything more since Joss stopped him with a look, "We are honored to receive your call. We were about to head back home, but these seemed very serious." He never looked at any of them, but shot a curious glance at Penny.

"The unusual amount of Shadows would do that to a group. We could help you guys if you like…"

"No that's fine. I think we could handle it." The two boys headed out without another glance back.

"Why did it have to be them?" Illiana complained as she put on her robe.

` "At least we know the job will get done with them on the case. We don't have to worry about people not doing their job properly," Max grudgingly said.

Midnight shook his head in disgust as she calmed down now that the boys were gone. Jasmine looked confused at everyone's reaction.

"Are they your friends?" she asked Penny.

"Well…they are our teammates, but we don't really get along," Penny tried to explain.

"It doesn't matter. These guys will handle the remaining Shadows as we head off," Jayden said, shouldering his pack. They all were carrying one and Penny put one on when Jasmine gave her a hug.

"I know you will be back, but I will miss you."

Penny felt smaller during the hug and didn't understand why people did it. None of the Lost Boys hugged and Peter never did anything like this. She felt funny and hoped none of the other Hearts hug.

Just before they headed out, the guards circled around them. They grabbed each of the adventurers and yanked off their packs. Jasmine was demanding a reason behind this while Midnight snarled and attacked to the one holding Penny. She struggled and tried to heat her arm, but she still didn't know how she did it.

Razoul stepped up to Jasmine with the Sultan behind him looking grave, "We heard from a little birdie that a rare diamond was taken from the treasure room. When we searched it, the diamond was, in fact, gone. If these folks don't have it, then we will let them go. Search their bags."

As the guards searched, Jayden, Max and Illiana tried to reason with them.

"Come on, you think we would steal a diamond? What good would that do us?" Illiana asked. None of their packs had it, but when they dumped Penny's, a palm sized diamond rolled out. Everyone stared at it: Razoul smiled; the trio looked shocked; Jasmine hurt; Penny confused.

"Penny! How could you?" Jasmine cried.

"But I didn't! How could I?" Penny stared in disbelief.

"Darn it Penny! Didn't I tell you not to touch anything?" Jayden said.

Penny tried to explain, but the guards were her away. They had let the trio go, which was a big mistake. They each had pulled out their weapons ready to rescue their teammate. They went after the guards.

"Stop! I'll be fine! Just go!" Penny pleaded.

Midnight growled, his hair standing up straight on his back, _I will not leave you again._

_ Yes you will! Trust me! I didn't do this, _Penny begged.

He finally stopped what he was doing and stood back with the others.

"We will be waiting!" Max called out as Penny was dragged away. They weren't gentle at all and she could feel bruises forming on her arms. The group had made it to the dungeon which Razoul happily lead the way inside. The two holding her, slammed Penny into the wall and shackled her.

"You must seem so proud of yourself, street rat," Razoul gloated. Penny stayed silent letting him talk. "This was all part of your plan: You get close to the Princess pretending to be her friend and then you steal from her. Once a thief, always a thief."

"If I'm such a thief, how did I get caught? And why would I rescue the Princess if I was only going to steal from her?" Penny asked as she slumped against the wall.

Razoul frowned, "How should I know? I'm not a street rat!" The guards left her alone in the room.

Penny sighed, reviewing her situation. She never carried the bag anywhere, so whoever stole the diamond must have access to everything in the palace. She struggled against the shackles, but they didn't even budge. At least she could sit down, which was the only positive thing right now.

_ Only I had my own lock picking set! _She thought, sitting there, waiting.

_Maybe, but how would that get you out? _Midnight's voice answered.

_Simple! I pick myself out of here!_

_ Did you do it, Penny? _A new voice entered the conversation.

_No. How could I? Why would I steal from you? I only steal from pirates. _Penny promised Jasmine.

There was a moment of silence until, _Okay, I believe you. I'll help you out._

It wasn't until later in the night when the help came. He had crawled through the window to avoid any attention from the guards. He landed softly on top of Penny's shoulders and from his vest, he pulled out his picks.

"Thanks a bunch, Abu." Penny whispered. "I owe you one."

Abu chattered, almost blushing as the shackles fell from Penny's wrists. Rubbing them back to life, Penny looked for a way out. It looked like the only way was through the window, unless she wanted to out run the guards again. If only she had Star, but the fairy had gotten along with Illiana that she stayed with her sometimes.

"Looks like we're heading up," Penny said out loud. Abu agreed and was starting to climb the wall. The girl took her time finding the right foot and hand holds in the rock wall. It wasn't as easy as she thought it was. They finally made it out the window when a shadow loomed over them. Acting fast, Penny pulled out her dagger only to find Iago on the roof with them.

"C'mon! I'm supposed to take you to Jasmine!"

The three of them traveled by roof top, the parrot flying and the other two by running and climbing. As the presence got stronger for the girl, they found the Princess hiding on top of the building, waiting.

"I'm sorry but this was the only way," Jasmine said, handing Penny her bag and a new cloak.

"No worries, I didn't think anyone would believe me anyways," Penny said putting on the gear. The cloak was a dark blue and there was an extra piece of cloth that covered half of her face.

"I would recommend you staying away for awhile. At least until everything calmed down."

"Okay. I think that was the plan anyway. We will keep in touch. I'll be back! I promise!"

Without another word, Penny vanished into the night.

Jayden, Illiana, and Max waited impatiently outside the town. They were told by Iago to wait here until Penny came, but he never gave them a time. It was super dark outside the town and there was a chill in the air. Midnight sat, waiting for a sound, a smell, anything really to let him know his girl was safe. Starlight sat on his head, thinking the same thing. She made a vow to stay by her side no matter what from now on.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, a dark shape fell in front of them, startling the humans into action.

"Relax guys! It's me!" Penny pulled the cloth down and they saw her face more clearly.

"Gods Penny, a little warning next time," Illiana whispered as they headed out.

"Sorry!"

"What was that all about anyways?" Jayden asked as he light up his staff, showing their path.

"Yea, why did you steal that diamond?" Max added.

"I didn't steal it! I only ever stole from pirates. Someone must've framed me…"

_But who would do that? _Midnight asked.

_Who knows? Think it was Ace?_

Midnight did not like the idea of that human doing that to her. The next time he sees him, he will be taught a lesson.

"Well, whoever it was, they got you good. Now we won't be able to visit until this blows over." Jayden said stopping them. They had reached their destination and away they went onto the next world.


	16. Chapter 16

TAoP Chapter 16

Letters from Home

As soon as they landed on the RLS _Treasure_, Illiana sent them to work. Max and Jayden were sent to check the supplies and Penny had to mop the deck.

"Why can't I check the supplies?" Penny whined as she held the mop. Midnight and Star had gone to bed since the times have been screwed up for them.

"'Cause we can't trust you around food," Illiana explained. She was studying paper maps and a computer. She believed that she had discovered where they were in space so they didn't have to guess where they were. "If you don't start now, you'll never finish."

Penny grumbled as she set off to work. She never had to clean anything in her life and now, she had to do it every day. _Maybe I should've stayed on Neverland, _she thought as she splashed water all over the place.

_Then you would've missed out on all the fun, _Midnight called.

_Not if I have to clean all the time._

Penny worked in silence for awhile as she thought. Since finding the three Hearts (she's apparently not counting the one at Neverland), she felt closer to them, like there are constant whispers in her head of them going on their days. Only once in a while they check in to see how she is. Mostly it is Minnie, but Amelia has looked in to see how the ship is. Penny didn't mind, of course, but it was strange to have people in her head. It was like she didn't have any privacy anymore. Was it always going to be like this? How many girls was she going to have in her head?

She shook her head to get rid of such thoughts. She shouldn't be worried about such things. Penny should like the fact that she was always in contact with them. _After all, I am their protector._ She splashed more water more water on the deck and swished it around with the mop. As she was doing that, she moved on to different thoughts, like the water at the fountain. _If I had control over my magic, this deck would be clean already._

Penny paused in mid stroke; why couldn't she do that? After all, she was told she had to practice. She looked up at Illiana to see if she was watching, but she was focused on the maps that she wouldn't notice anything strange going on. So, Penny put the mop against the side and concentrated on the water in the bucket. She closed her eyes and imagined the water lifting and spreading all over the deck. As she thought about it, her right hand went cold.

All of a sudden, Penny was pushed back against the side by water. It lifted and carried her over the edge. She had barely managed to grab the edge when more water came crashing over. She heard Illiana's scream of shock as the water hit her as well.

_Penny!_ Midnight barked as he sensed her panic. He ran to where the boys were, but they were already on their way. Jayden made it to the top first and was knocked down by a wave. He spit out some water and pulled his staff out, looking for the problem. He finally found the bucket that Penny was using. There was water spout coming from it and it was causing the water to come out in waves. It took some intense concentration on his part to reverse the spell, but he finally managed it.

The water slowly stopped and flowed off the edges of the ship. Max was holding onto the stairs leading below deck and spotted Illiana still by the wheel.

"You okay, Illiana?" he called as Jayden ran to help her.

She looked soaked to the bone, but she was fine. "I'm okay. It surprised me that's all. What caused all that?"

"Let's ask the only person to do that," Jayden said, cleaning his glasses and looking around for the girl.

"Over here! I can't hold on any longer!" A voice called from the edge. Max ran over and pulled Penny over the edge. She was shivering and soaked to the bone. She shook her head like a dog as Midnight came over.

_And which part of that plan was thought out?_ The wolf asked as he looked her over.

_If I say every part, will I be in less trouble?_

"Penny…" Jayden began, putting his fingertips to his temples, "what possessed you to do that? Have I not explained that your magic is more powerful than a normal person's?"

"But you also told me that I should practice to learn control," Penny pointed out.

"Yes I did, but I never expected you to practice without me to watch you. Had I not gotten here on time, you would've been lost in space. From now on, if you want to use magic, I must be there."

She sighed, "Okay Jayden. Whatever you say." Her stomach growled with hunger and she was still soaked.

"Go grab a snack, get dry and go to sleep. We'll talk more in the morning.

Penny nodded and headed below deck with Midnight. She fumbled around for some food in silence thinking over what happened.

_I wasn't expecting the water to be that high, _she explained.

_What exactly were you trying to do? _Midnight asked watching her.

_Just trying to get the deck clean. And I wanted to see what I could do. I only did what Jayden taught me._

_ But he only managed to tell you a little bit about magic. I understand that you want to learn, but you should think about the others._

_ That's the problem! I never looked out for others. The Lost Boys went their own way and I stayed away, _Penny bit into her huge sandwich she made. She could hear Jayden, Max and Illiana talking, but not what the topic was. It didn't take a genius to know who they were talking about.

_You are part of a team now! You are not alone in this journey. You should trust them, _Midnight continued.

_I suppose you are right. I'll apologize tomorrow then. _She yawned and the two of them turned in for the night.

The next morning, as the group was eating breakfast, the sound of a horn came out of nowhere. Jayden, Max, and Illiana immediately dropped their forks and ran to the deck. Penny was a second late, having stuffed the rest of the pancake in her mouth, and found another ship next to theirs. The three were talking to the captain when she felt Amelia's presence.

"Ah there she is! I was wondering when you would show up," the cat said briskly, "As I was saying, we were heading off to another sector and we have some mail for you. We weren't certain where you were, but luckily we crossed paths. Mister Hawkins, please fetch their letters," she turned to a young boy who looked about Jayden's age.

"Aye, Capt'n," he ran below deck.

"So, Penny, how was your first trip?"

Penny quickly swallowed her food and choked out, "It wasn't that bad until I got arrested."

"Arrested? For what?" Amelia's ears perked up.

"They thought I stole a diamond, but the Princess managed to get me out. We believe someone framed me."

"Hmmm, intriguing. I hope whoever it was will rethink about what they did. Ah, here are your letters." The boy came back on deck.

"Okay, Illiana, you have two letters." He handed them to her.

"Thanks, Jim!" Illiana jumped to the upper deck to read them in silence.

"Jayden, you have three letters." Jayden took them without any expression and put them in his pocket.

"Max, a couple of letters for you. Some are from the university."

"Sweet! Thanks, I've been waiting for these," Max said excitedly. He immediately ripped open the first one and started reading.

Penny was looking at the other ship when she heard her name, "And one for a Penny?" She turned and found Jim Hawkins behind her with a letter. "I take it you're Penny?"

"Yea, but who would be writing to me?" Penny took the letter and looked at it. On the back was the King's seal.

Max looked over, "Hey, it's from Minnie. I'd recognize her handwriting anywhere."

Penny slowly opened the letter and looked at it for a long time. Midnight sniffed at the piece of paper, waiting for any kind of reaction from the girl. So was Max, but when she didn't say anything, he spoke up.

"Anything bad in there?"

"No, umm, it's just that…I can't read," Penny said quietly looking at the strange writings.

"What do you mean you can't read?" Max asked surprised, "Didn't anyone teach you?"

"Nobody on the island knew how to. It was one of Peter's rules. But I can draw really good!"

"Here Penny, I'll read it to you," Jayden offered as the RLS Legacy left.

"Aren't you gonna read your letters?" she asked, sitting in the air next to him.

"Umm, I will later. They aren't important," he said quickly reading over the letter, "Here's what it says:

Penny,

I hope this letter reaches you before you get too far in space. We have received Jayden's report about how you had already found three Hearts. Good for you and I hope they are kind to you. How I wish someone young as you didn't have to go on this journey, but I'm sure in time you will grow. I just have some advice for you and I will check in with you every day. Make sure you don't run out of Never water; drink it only when you feel like you are growing. Also, stay by Jayden, Max and Illiana's side no matter what. They will help you in any situation. And most of all please be careful. There are many people who care about you. Hope you come visit us soon!

Love,

Minnie

Jayden handed the letter back to Penny when he finished, "See? She just wanted to let you know that she is thinking of you."

Penny nodded her head and put the letter in her shirt, "I wish I could write her back."

"I'll teach you how to read and write," Illiana offered, "But it's gonna have to wait. We are at our next destination!"


	17. Chapter 17

TaoP Chapter 17

Little Town

Penny ran to the edge to see the next world with Midnight at her side. Star had come up to see what was going on and landed on Penny's head. The world had a castle, much like the one on Fantasia, with a forest surrounding it. There was also a small town in the forest,

"When do we land?" Penny asked eager to get off.

"Not for awhile. We still have to prepare our things. Penny, has your shirt always looked like this?" Illiana asked.

The girl looked down. The shirt looked like it normally did, maybe there were new rips and smudges here and there, but it was her shirt. Her pants weren't in better shape, seeing there was a new hole in the back.

"And why don't you wear shoes?" Max pointed out, strapping his sword on his belt.

"Shoes hurt my feet. Why do you guys care about what I wear?"

"I'm sure Minnie packed new clothes for you. But you do what you want. Remember: first impressions are very important. Now grab your things. We'll leave when everything is ready," Illiana said as she anchored the ship.

Penny headed below deck to where the sleeping quarters were. She found her pack and dumped everything on the ground. In the pack was her canteen, some rope, extra pair of small shorts and chest cloth (as she puts it), a notebook with a pencil, and some extra clothing. The shirt was still green, but it was smaller and was made with better material. The pants actually had pockets and were the same length as her old pair. After some serious thinking, Penny changed out of her old clothes and into the new ones. They were snugger and the belt looked shabby compared to them.

_I suppose it will do, _she said feeling the material.

_You can always fix your old clothes,_ Midnight suggested, sniffing them.

Star chimed her opinion about the new outfit. She thinks Penny looks less like a boy than she did before.

They headed further down to the storage so Penny could get some more water. She sipped a little bit extra just in case and Midnight had some too. She could feel the water working as they went back to the top. The others were grabbing their packs when the small group came back. Max was making sure his weapons were clean and checked on Penny's. Illiana added more bullets to her guns and Jayden grabbed everything he needed.

Once prepared, Jayden announced they were heading off.

"What world is it?" Penny asked.

"It is France. What time period, I have no idea, but I do know they have a castle with a princess. There doesn't seem to be any reports on Shadow sightings," Illiana said as she got into position.

"Okay so I adjusted my transporting spell so that we will land closer to the town, unlike last time. Hopefully it will work," Jayden said, "Ready? One…two…three!"

The bright light blinded Penny for a bit and she could whispers and mutterings all around her. Opening her eyes she found herself standing in the middle on a town with shops and people walking around. Behind her was a fountain which had the others in it,

"Good job, Jay. Your spell worked wonders! We don't have to walk at all!" Illiana said sarcastically as she got out of the fountain. Penny tried hard not to laugh as she helped them out.

"Okay so maybe my calculations were a bit off, but at least we got to the right place," Jayden said cleaning his glasses and looking around.

"Yea, but now we are drawing a crowd. We should move," Max said as men came out of the tavern behind them, looking at the group with suspicion.

"Agreed. Let's move. C'mon Penny."

Penny smelled fresh bread, cheese and other foods, her mouth watering. She spotted the bakery and started making her way toward it until Midnight grabbed the back of her shirt.

_Not again. You are staying with the group. _He dragged her away and followed the others.

_But food! It calls to me! _She struggled against his hold, but he was too strong. She let him take her as they caught up with group.

"Good job Midnight. Okay Penny, where to?" Jayden looked at her from behind his glasses.

"How should I know?" Penny moped, knowing there was a Heart here, "Can't we explore for a bit?"

"No. Our mission is to find the Hearts, warn them, and leave. We have to be quick or else the Darkness will find out and follow us."

Penny thought and was about to answer when an elderly lady and a boy passed by. The boy looked at Midnight and grabbed the lady's hand.

"Look Mama! A dog! He's bigger than Sultan!"

"Yes, yes dear, but we must be going. Adam and Belle are expecting us. Come along, Chip," the lady said without looking at them. They were headed towards a wagon with an older man at the reins, waiting for them. As Penny listened, yellow came to her mind and the string to the Heart grew stronger.

"Okay I got it now. We should follow them." She watched them leave town.

"Great, but how do we follow them?" Max asked.

"With my new invention I have been working on," Jayden explained, pulling out the gray cube. Penny was curious so she turned to watch.

"A cube? How is that helpful and did you and Ludwig work on this?" Illiana looked at it cautiously.

"No and it will work! Just watch." Jayden placed it on the ground and waited. He took out his staff and stood still for a few minutes. Finally something happened: the cube had turned into the exact copy of the wagon that had just left. Jayden turned looking smug, "Well what do you think?"  
"Couldn't you do that before? Why did you need to invent something like that?" Penny asked.

"I added my magic so that this can stay like this for a long time. If I just did this with another object it would only last for a short while. The cube is using my magic until I take it away."

"It's great, but we need a horse," Max pointed out.

"Oh right. Umm, that I can't do."

"Give me a second," Penny said as she spotted a stable. She, Midnight, and Star entered, looking at all the different horses, "If only you were an animal fairy, Star."

Star chime in agreement as she flew over them. Penny and Midnight walked down the aisle until one horse stuck its head out of its stall. It was a light tan horse with a white strip down its nose. The mane was also pure white and its brown eyes watched Penny closely. She reached over to pet it and it nickered softly.

"You'll do."

Penny returned to the group with the horse behind her.

"Penny, what—how?" Jayden said amazed.

"Animals love me. I think her name is Buttercup, but I could be wrong. Her voice is a little hard to hear. But she agreed to give us a ride," Penny explained.

So they harnessed Buttercup and they set off towards the forest. Max and Jayden sat up front while the girls and Midnight sat in the back. The forest was bright and there were many birds about. Penny enjoyed the breeze with Midnight. Star rode on Buttercup's head chatting away without a care.

"I miss the forest," Penny whispered.

Illiana glance at her, "Some other worlds have amazing forests. When this is all over, we could visit some of them."

"And when will this be over?"

She didn't have an answer, so she stayed silent for the rest of the ride.

_This may not be over for a long time, but you should at least enjoy the journey, _Midnight stated.

_But my home and everyone else, had I not left, there would have never been another girl there, _Penny said stubbornly, still angry with Peter.

_Then we would've never had met. Do you regret that?_

_ No. I would never regret that, but I do see your point. Thanks._

_ "_So, Penny, did you sense the Heart already or was it the lady that helped you out?" Max asked in the silence.

"I sensed…her since we landed, but it was faint as usual. At least it was until the lady said a name and the trail became clearer."

"Are we assuming that all Hearts are females?" Jayden asked.

"Well, let's think on it: so far we have found three Hearts—"

"Whoa, what about the one on Neverland?"

"Okay fine, four Hearts, they are all female so far and it I'm correct they are all protected."

"Protected? What does that mean?" Illiana asked.

"They have someone to watch over them besides me, so that nothing bad can happen to them if I'm not there," Penny explained.

_That must be why they have the power. People can protect them every day, _Midnight added.

"Exactly. So in conclusion, all Hearts are female."

"Still, we shouldn't assume that. Remember the lady said two names," Jayden said.

"Well, we can check that out now," Max said pulling to a stop, "I believe we have made it." 


	18. Chapter 18

TAoP Chapter 18

Parties and Nightmares

In front of the group was a huge castle, bigger than the trees around them. The wagon stepped out of the forest and followed the bridge to the gate. There was a crowd of people in elegant ball gowns and suits. They stopped a few feet behind and listened to the excited voices in the air.

"Seems like a party is going on," Illiana observed.

"I don't think we have an invitation," Jayden said, "but I suppose we should look the part." He waved his staff and his clothes changed to a suit much like what the men were wearing. "Not too bad. But still a bit awkward."

"Hey what about us?"

"Oh right." Illiana's outfit changed to a purple ball gown with white gloves.

"Hmmm…nice. I can see what you mean by being awkward," Illiana twirled around. "This party had better be worth it."

"And what are me and Penny supposed to do?" Max asked getting out of the wagon.

"Find another way in. I don't have enough magic to give us all a costume change. You guys find the Heart. We'll see if there's any trouble going on around here." Jayden and Illiana left to go stand in line.

Penny petted Buttercup as she felt the Heart move in the castle, "So how do we get in?"

"I have no idea. You?" Max asked completely stumped.

"We could climb…"

"We can't climb the castle! Do you know how long that will take us if we don't fall!"

"Sorry did I say climb? How do you feel about flying?"

When Jayden and Illiana entered the castle, their jaws dropped to the ground. They couldn't even see the ceiling and the hallway was extravagant. There was a double staircase leading to a door which held the ballroom. All the people seemed to be heading in there so the two followed the crowd.

"Okay, how are we going to do this?" Illiana whispered as she got a drink.

"I don't have a clue. Idle chitchat?" Jayden suggested.

"I suppose that will do."

They walked around to find people to converse with, but no such luck. Everybody seemed to be avoiding them or they didn't like new comers.

"Well, this went well."

"Bonjour! And welcome to our annual party, mademoiselle." A tall gentleman in yellow came over to them. "I hope everything is to your liking?" He took Illiana's hand and kissed it. She blushed slightly and gave a nervous laugh.

"Yes. This party is most excellent. Thank you," Jayden answered stiffly, putting his hand on Illiana's shoulder protectively.

"That is good! I was hoping that the lovely mademoiselle would like to dance? You have the most beautiful eyes I have ever—"

"Lumiere! Don't bother these people!" A smaller but bigger man came over to them. He had a pocket watch swinging from his neck.

"Oh come now, Cogsworth. I was only welcoming out guests," Lumiere said innocently.

"Yes, yes, yes I know exactly what you were doing. Now go see if Prince Adam needs help with anything." Lumiere left, but without blowing Illiana a kiss first. "You must excuse my friend. He is very fond of parties."

"There was no harm done. All is well," Illiana reassured both the man and Jayden, who has not taken his hand off.

"That's good, but I must say, I have never seen you before. Have we met?"

"Ah…no we are new around here and my relatives invited us here for the evening to meet new people," Jayden lied swiftly, nervously fidgeting with his glasses.

"Oh and who are your relatives?" Cogsworth asked interested.

"Ummm…well, they…"

Before Jayden could say an answer, the little boy from the town came up.

"Cogsworth, my mom needs to see you right away."

"Oh yes, okay thank you Chip. If you will excuse me I am needed." Cogsworth left them at a brisk pace, but the boy stayed behind for a bit. They looked familiar, but he was wanted in the kitchen.

Jayden sighed in relieve, "That was close."

"Too close. C'mon, let's see if we can find out anything," Illiana suggested, leading him to the dance floor.

"Are you sure I'm doing this right, Penny?" Max called as he flapped his arms like a bird.

"Umm…not really, but it will have to do," Penny said from above him.

The two of them snuck around to the back of the castle and started giving flying lessons to Max. They had to convince Buttercup to stay behind and it took tons of convincing Midnight to stay behind. He didn't like the idea of it but he also didn't like the idea of flying. So he sat in the wagon watching them.

_You had better stay in contact with me or else, _he warned Penny.

_I know, I know and I will. No worries! _She called to him.

Max started to turn upside down when she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"It's more of a lean. You have to lean forward to move. Relax your arms. Use them to turn. Hold them out like this," she spread out her and showed him how to turn. "See it's easy!"

"Yea, easy for you to say. You've been flying your whole life," Max grumbled.

"C'mon! I'll guide you!" Star flew around them both, happy to be flying. They flew up to the windows and peeked inside. Most of them were rooms that held servants cleaning and bedrooms; nothing interesting for them to see more. The presence was growing stronger as they traveled up until they reached a bedroom with two people, a man and a girl. The girl was sitting on the bed and the man was standing in front of her. She had a long yellow ball gown and he had a blue suit. The windows were open, so Penny listened in as she gestured to Max to stay still.

"…thought these dreams were done?" the man was saying.

"I know, but they keep coming worse and worse. It's been a year since everything happened, Adam, but they just won't stop." The girl was nearly in tears.

"Maybe you shouldn't come to the party."

"No, I'll go. I'll come in a little while." The man, Adam, kissed her forehead and left. The girl sat in silence until, "I know you're there. Please come out."

Penny immediately flew in the room and landed in front of her. She bowed, waiting patiently for her to say something.

"Who are you?"

"I'm Penny. I protect the Hearts, which you are one. I was only looking for you," Penny answered.

"But in my dreams, you always attacked me. And now with you being here, I feel safe."

"Dreams?" Max asked as he attempted to come in.

"My nightmares. They always begin with me running away from Gaston and then you show up and create a ring of fire. That's when I always wake up, but I could never forget that smile you gave and the bright green eyes."

Before anyone could say more, the door opened and the elderly lady entered carrying a tray with a cup of tea.

"Now Belle dear, here's some tea to help you—oh!" she dropped the tray, but Penny sprang forward and caught it before it spilled all over.

"Mrs. Potts! It's okay. These people won't harm us," Belle said going to the lady's side.

"But, but the girl has green eyes! What if she attacks? Oh I must tell the Master," she turned to leave.

"No, please listen. It's all been a misunderstanding. This girl is to protect me. She is meant to be here. I'll explain everything more but it will have to be tonight."

"Maybe you should have some tea?" Penny offered holding the tray out to Mrs. Potts.

"Why don't we go to the party and talk to all of our guests?" Belle suggested as she lead her to the door. She looked back at Penny, "You will come won't you?"

"Of course, Belle. Anything for you." Penny and Max followed them down to the party.

The song ended, so Jayden and Illiana stopped dancing and clapped for the band. So far, for their investigation was not going as planned. The only exciting thing that happened was a browned haired man coming in and everyone clapped for him.

"Well, this has been very insightful," Illiana said, sipping her drink. She was watching everyone, seeing if anything was out of place.

"At least nobody is asking any questions about us, but nothing really seems to be wrong with this place. I hope the others have had more luck," Jayden sighed rubbing his eyes from tiredness.

"Introducing the belle of the ball, Belle!" the man in the blue suit announced and a girl in a yellow ball gown came in. she curtsied to everyone and the two of them started to dance.

"So any luck with anything?" Penny asked from behind them.

"Gahh!" Illiana spilled her drink in surprise.

"Oh, sorry Illiana. I thought you saw us."

"So did you get anything?" Max handed Illiana a napkin to wipe the drink.

"Nothing at all except I made Illiana look to beautiful," Jayden said. "You?"

"The usual: found a Heart, met her, found out she has nightmares, and soon to get a bead," Penny explained also taking a sip of the drink and talking to Midnight.

"You can't drink that Penny! It's wine!" Jayden ripped the drink from her hand.

"But it's good! I like it!"

"Anyways, nightmares?" Jayden finished the wine before Penny could grab it back.

"She's been having those more recently. Apparently, Penny has been featured in some," Max stated eating some of the food with Penny, who has moved on from the wine.

"Oh, interesting. I guess we will have to talk to them after the party."

"Until then, shall we?" Illiana asked gesturing to the dance floor. She and Jayden headed back out, blending in with the crowd.

"How long do these usually last?" Penny asked randomly, watching the dancers.

"How should I know? Balls aren't my thing," Max said.

"I believe she was talking to me, sorry," Belle came up from behind them, "And these normally last a long time. Mostly through the night."

"I don't understand parties, why do people have them?" Penny continued, trying to understand the different worlds.

"This is a special party. It has been exactly one year since the curse has been lifted from this castle, so this is a huge celebration for everyone here. Won't you dance?"

"I don't dance. And I'm watching everything to understand and learn. But if I could take a moment of your time…" Penny pulled out beads and explained what they were. Pretty soon, she was tying a yellow bead in her hair.

"If you would like, I can set up some rooms for you and your friends for the night," Belle offered not wanting the girl to leave.

"I think we would like that. They look like they are having fun." Jayden and Illiana continued to dance, not noticing the group was watching them. It was only them tonight.

"I'll have Mrs. Potts show you some rooms. We can talk more in the morning."


	19. Chapter 19

TAoP Chapter 19

The Night Has Only Begun

Mrs. Potts walked nervously down the hall, attempting to hold the candle stick straight. She was feeling jumpy because there was a wolf following her along with a strange girl and boy. Why Belle wanted them to stay was a mystery to her, but she will do as she is told. She stopped in front of a couple of doors and opened two of them.

"This room will be the boys and this one will be for the girls."

"Thank you ma'am, these rooms look amazing," Penny said as she walked through the girls' room. Midnight ran inside sniffing everything in sight.

"That's good dear. If you need anything just ask."

Max and Penny nodded to her and both headed into their separate rooms. As Penny walked in hers, she found that Midnight had already claimed one side of the giant bed and Star claimed one side of her pillow.

"Great, is there anything else you guys require? A massage maybe or a glass of water?" Penny asked as she got into bed.

_You know, now that you mention it… _Midnight joked opening one eye to watch her.

_It can wait until morning._

Penny settled on Midnight's side and fell right asleep. Her dreams were fairly normal. They were of forests and of all the places she used to go on Neverland.

It was late in the night when Penny was wrenched from her peaceful sleep by a scream. She could feel Belle's panic and fear. She immediately flew into action. Midnight was not far behind her.

"Huh? Wha? Penny? What's up?" Illiana groggily got up, but Penny was already out of the room. She ran through the halls following the string that connects her with Belle. She finally found the door and burst her way in. Belle was sitting on the bed with Adam's arms wrapped around her. She was crying.

"Belle? What's wrong? Are you okay?" Penny asked, wide awake. She could still hear her screams.

"They keep getting worse. Why?" Belle looked at Penny.

"Wait, who are you?" Adam asked getting up from the bed defensively.

"It's okay, Adam. She will help me. Please come with me." Belle took Penny's hand and they went down the hallway. They went through some double doors which lead them to a gigantic library. "This is where I go when I can't sleep. Help yourself."

"Wow! This one is bigger than the one on Fantasia," Penny admired. Belle laughed and grabbed a book from a table. "Ooooh, what's that one?"

"This is about King Arthur. Have you read it?"

"No…I can't read. But is it good?"

"You can't read? Here, I'll read it to you and maybe I'll teach you a bit." Belle started reading the story and didn't stop until the end.

Penny woke up and stretched her neck; it was feeling stiff from sleeping awkwardly. She had been sleeping on Belle's shoulder who was still reading a book.

"Belle?" Penny asked, her voice thick with sleep. The sun was shining brightly through the windows. Mrs. Potts was there with little Chip and a hot cup of tea.

"You are awake. Did you not like the story?" Belle smiled and sipped her tea.

"No, no I was just tired. It was a long day yesterday."

"Would you like to start to learn how to read?"

Penny nodded eagerly, but Jayden came in, "Ah Penny! There you are. C'mon, we need to practice."

She groaned, stood and stretched. Midnight got up from his pillow that he stole and waited for her. Penny bowed to Belle and followed Jayden outside.

They made it to a courtyard. There, Jayden had set up tons of barrels all which were filled with water. The two of them stood in the middle of the forest of barrels.

"Okay, shall I tell you what you are going to do?" Jayden asked, switching his glasses for goggles.

"I might have an idea," Penny said, glancing around.

"Right, since you are so eager to learn about magic, we might as well start right away. Remember, magic is based on your imagination. Whatever you can imagine, your magic can create it." Jayden lifted his staff and soon the water formed into a water version of Penny. It was the exact height and it even had her smile.

"Whoa…" She whistled, impressed as the water went back into the barrels.

"Now you try to create something."

Penny spread out her hands, closed her eyes and concentrated. Not that was helpful at all; she could hear the Hearts. Minnie was sewing her dress, Amelia was navigating her ship, Jasmine was walking in her garden, and Belle was watching her but was thinking about her nightmare. Penny frowned as the image of an arrogant man came to mind. He was big, muscular guy with a cocky grin much like her own, but his seemed nastier. He was all Belle could think about and in turn all Penny could think about. She could hear the water tinkling and her right hand went cold.

"Wow, now that's impressive Penny, but who is he?" Jayden asked.

Penny opened her eyes and found a copy of the man in water form. He had his arms crossed, looking down at them with his cocky grin.

"I'm not sure. He's the one in Belle's dreams, but other than that, I have no idea," Penny said, impressed with her own work. She looked at him and imagined him flexing his arms. The water man did and he looked ridiculous. Penny laughed.

Belle came into the courtyard, "You created this?"

"Yup! Sorry, but I was listening to you and he was occupying your mind."

"He is in my dreams a lot now. He wanted me to marry him, but I didn't like him. Gaston, that's his name, tried to destroy this castle. He fell to this death while fighting Adam. In my dreams, he survived that fall," Belle shivered as she watched the water man. Penny let the water fall after seeing how uncomfortable she got, getting their feet soaked.

"These dreams, you said that Penny was in them right?" Jayden asked, interested now that they were on the subject of dreams.

"Yes. She seemed like she was helping Gaston, but now I'm not so sure."

"This seems like the work of Nyght-mares. Or Nyght-creatures. We better take a look around. Shadows could be nearby as well. I'll go get the others." Jayden jogged back into the castle calling the others from his necklace.

Penny took out her sword and practiced some moves. She felt a little better with her magic, but she didn't want to think about her fire power.

"You're leaving?" Belle asked nervously.

"Yes. But we are only checking out around the castle. We should be back later," Penny explained, still practicing.

"But do you have to go? Something doesn't feel right to me."

Penny paused and looked at Belle. Her brown eyes were full of concern. She also felt like something was going to happen and leaving the Heart was the last thing she wanted to do. She put her hand on her necklace and talked to the group.

_Guys, I'm staying here._

_ What? Why? We need you,_ Jayden asked confused.

_The Heart thinks something is up and to tell you the truth, something is telling me to stay here. So I'm staying here. You guys go on ahead._

_ Are you sure? If something happens, let us know, _Illiana said.

_I hate to leave you behind, but if Belle wants it, _Max added.

_No worries, guys! I got Midnight and Star with me. What could go wrong? _Penny said with a wave of her hand.

_Are we staying here?_ Midnight asked when Penny was done talking to the others.

_Yup! We are so we might as well make the most of it and keep our eyes open. _Penny patted Midnight and turned to Belle. "I'm staying here while my friends go around. Just as you requested."

"Thank you. Now would you like some lunch?" Belle asked, gesturing back to the castle. They all headed back inside as Penny's stomach grumbled for food.


	20. Chapter 20

TAoP Chapter 20

A True Nightmare

Penny gasped at the sight of all the food on the table. It was completely full of regular food and desserts. Her stomach growled even loader than before, her mouth watering with anticipation. Midnight barked with delight.

"All this is for me?" she grabbed a plate and fork, deciding what she should eat first.

"Well, it's also for your friends and everyone else," Belle laughed, taking her place at the table.

"And thank you for waiting for us," Max said, putting his hand on Penny's head.

"I was going to save you some," Penny insisted.

"Yea, right," Jayden and Illiana took a sit. Immediately, servants came to set drinks in front of them. Penny looked in her goblet and saw white stuff.

"What is this? Is it wine like last night?"

Belle laughed, "No it's milk. You are too young for wine." Penny shrugged and drank it all in one gulp.

"Sorry I'm late, Belle. I had business to take care of," Adam entered the room and sat at the head of the table. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek.

"It's alright, dear," Belle answered taking a sip of soup.

"And these are our guests?"

"Yes. I'm Max and these are my friends. We are only passing by here while we are searching for…people. We will probably leave sometime tomorrow," Max vaguely explained, taking on the role as leader of the group.

"So soon? Will you be back?" Belle asked.

"Yes, eventually. We will be back before you know it," Illiana reassured her. Penny was too busy stuffing her mouth with food as if it will disappear. Star chimed that she should slow down.

"Penny," Jayden warned, buttering his bread and not paying much attention to her. She looked up to find everyone staring at her. She swallowed her food and slowly started eating again.

"She eats a lot, doesn't she Mama?" Chip observed from the doorway.

"Chip, don't be rude," Mrs. Potts scolded at him, "I'm sorry dear. He isn't used to visitors.

Penny shook her head, "It's fine. Sometimes I forget I'm with company."

The meal continued in silence until most of the food was gone (it was Penny who ate the most). Penny leaned back in her chair, content with everything. Midnight jumped on her lap, but he was too big. The group couldn't even see her anymore.

"Midnight! You aren't a pup anymore!" Penny shoved him off.

_Sorry! I forgot. _He put his head on her lap instead.

Jayden looked about the room, "I think we should head out."

"Okay we have everything ready. You sure you'll be fine here Penny?" Max asked. They headed out to the main entrance.

"Don't worry about me Max! You can trust me!" She grinned. Max just looked at her in disbelief.

"Wait. It could be chilly out there," Belled handed them cloaks.

"Thanks. These will be helpful," Illiana said putting one on. "We might be back soon. You never know."

"I'll hold the fort here!" Penny saluted.

Max couldn't help smiling at her and ruffled her hair, "Good. Let us know if anything happens."

"Will do!" She waved them out until they were out of sight.

Belle put her hand on Penny's shoulder, "Why don't we read until they come back?"

"So thanks to all…and once and to each one…When we invite you to see us…crone—"

"It's 'crowned' Penny," Belle corrected her.

"Oh right, okay. Crowned at Scone," Penny had finally finished her first book ever. "Wow, who knew reading could be fun!"

"See? That wasn't so bad. You have a natural talent," Belle picked up the book and put it away.

"Maybe, I could be a fast learner." Penny eyed a piece of paper that was on the table next to her. She was very tempted to draw since she hasn't done it in awhile. "Hey, Belle, can I use this paper?"

"Sure, what are you going to do?" Belle brought back another book and watched Penny draw. She started drawing the usual things: the forest, Lost Boys, the fairies, and Peter. But soon, she was grabbing another sheet of paper. On that one, she drew her crew, Minnie and the other Hearts.

"Wow, you are a good drawer. How did you learn?" Belle looked at the papers, tracing the pencil marks.

"I've taught myself. On my island, I drew in the sand when the Lost Boys and Peter were off somewhere," Penny said.

Suddenly, a streak of lightning shone through the windows and a loud crack of thunder followed soon after. Midnight yelped in surprise as Penny gasped dropping the papers. The room became dark since the sun was gone.

"Hold on, there are some candles around here," Belle stumbled around the library until she located a candle stick.

"It's okay, I think I got it," Penny snapped her fingers on her left hand and a small fire ball popped out. She that about five times and the floated around the library like little fireflies.

"Careful! Make sure it doesn't touch the books," Belle cried in alarm.

"Don't worry! I have them under control."

"Belle, are you still in here?" Prince Adam came in carrying candles.

"Yes, Adam, we're here."

"Come, I'm trying to find the others. There is a huge storm outside. We need to make sure everyone is safe."

"Oh, but…" she looked at Penny.

"It's okay. Go on, I'll be fine," Penny waved them away. As they left, she touched her necklace to talk to Max. _You guys okay?_

_ Yea, we're fine. We found a cave before the storm hit, but that's not all we found. The Shadows seemed to have possessed someone, but we don't know if they managed to summon a Nyght-creature. Keep your eyes open,_ Max said.

_Gotcha, keep eyes open! Roger that! _Penny moved out of the library and traveled down the hall. Midnight, Star and the fireballs followed her out. They light the way, creating shadows on the walls.

_It seems strange that a storm came randomly, _Midnight said as more lightning and thunder came.

_It is weird. _They made it to the main entrance, which was deserted. "Huh, where is everyone?" Penny wondered out loud.

The doors opened from the wind and Shadows burst into the hall from the rain. Midnight growled, standing protectively in front of Penny. The Shadows didn't have human shapes like the ones in Agrabah; they were lighter black, but their eyes were pitch black. They crawled or walked, Penny couldn't tell, towards her.

"I changed my mind, I'd rather be alone!" Penny drew her sword as the nearest on attacked.

_There are more than the ones we fought in Agrabah, _Midnight observed, taking three at once.

"Thank you! Like I haven't noticed!"

The Shadows circled around them. Midnight went after most of them. Penny swung her sword, sending the fireballs at them. Star flew in her shirt to hide.

"Penny, what's going—Ahh!" Belle gasped coming down the stairs. The Shadows turned to look at her and charged for the Heart.

"Belle! Get out of here!" Penny jumped in front of the oncoming Shadows. Remembering Max's lessons, she fell into a defensive position.

_I don't think we can beat them! _Midnight exclaimed.

_Yea well, I can't exactly call the others! Kinda busy right now!_

Penny faltered in her footing when two Shadows attacked at once. One of them backhanded her, sending her into the wall. Her sword dropped from her hand as she slid down. Little dots appeared before her eyes.

_PENNY! _Midnight came in front of her, more vicious than ever. He showed his teeth and snarled at them as they came closer. One of them was reaching for her shadow.

"Penny!" Belle cried, trying to come to her aide.

"Stay back!" Penny gasped out as she saw the Heart. "It's looking for you!" Penny struggled to stand up right, her back bruised from the wall and her face burning from the hit. Without thinking and knowing why, she took off her gloves while thinking about Midnight. Her hands became hot and cold. Trailing from her hands was a fire and water wolf. They were bigger than Midnight and scarier.

_Be careful! You don't know what you are doing! _Midnight yelled at her but his voice could not reach her. Her magic was out of control; sparks of fire was flying from the wolf's fur as the water one was dripping everywhere. Star flew out of the shirt and through the doors.

The wolves stalked the Shadows as they advanced towards the girl. Penny wasn't herself; her eyes glowed green and she took no notice of what was happening around her. Even Belle or the other Hearts couldn't reach her. The elemental wolves destroyed all the Shadows without leaving a trace. She stood still as the wolves circled her. Midnight tried to get closer but the others blocked his way.

_Penny can you hear me? Answer me!_

"Penny, please," Belle pleaded, "They're gone. I'm fine, it's okay." Belle moved slowly closer to her. Penny turned to look at her, her eyes completely green and still bright.

"Penny…"

"Belle?" Her eyes dimmed and she stumbled. The wolves started to vanish, causing the room to get darker as the fire wolf went away. Penny blinked and her eyes went back to normal. But then, her world turned black as she fell.


	21. Chapter 21

TAoP Chapter 21

Decision Time

"Why hasn't she woken up yet? It's been two days."

"She used up a bunch of magic from what I could understand from Belle. The gloves she wears blocks her powers from getting out of control. That's why Master Yensid gave them to her. She's never to take them off but I guess he didn't tell her that."

"She's really that powerful?"

Penny listened to the voices around her. She recognized them and knew she had to wake up, but her eyes were glued shut. She felt something cold touch her cheek and heard whining in her ear.

"I told you, her powers are ten times stronger than mine, maybe even more, and possibly stronger than Donald's. Her powers are focused around fire and water. I don't even know if that's where it ends. We also can't forget her ability to sense the Hearts."

Penny twitched her hand and the room fell silent. She slowly opened to eyes to bright sunlight shining through the window. A fuzzy black face blocked her view until her eyes focused to see Midnight. He whined again and licked her face.

"Midnight…there you are." She patted his head. Someone had put back on her gloves.

"Penny," Illiana sat on the bed, her face looked relieved, "Do you remember anything about the other night?"

"I only remember the Shadows coming in…" Penny winced at the pain that shit through her head. "That's about it. The rest is blurry."

Illiana put her hand against her forehead and her head felt immediately better. The girl's eyes began to droop again as if the healing magic was forcing her.

"We should head out soon. I think we over stayed our welcome," Max warned. "The people of this world are starting to ask questions."

"Can we leave when she's like this?" Illiana asked as Penny slept.

"We have to. We'll leave tonight. She can rest on the boat. We have some supplies that could last until the next world but that depends on how much Penny will eat," Jayden said thinking it over. He took off his glasses. "I'll see what world it is and hope that it is close. I'll ready the transport spell."

It was night when Penny woke up again. Her room was finally dark and empty except for the dark shape curled by her feet. Also on the nightstand was Star, sitting on one of the Hearts beads. Penny slowly sat up, but stopped short when the room spun. Finally, she was sitting on the edge of the bed putting the beads back in. She felt a wave of emotions from the Hearts. It caused her head to ache more.

"Argh!" she gasped, clutching her head. She quickly pulled the beads back out and the pain slowly drifted away.

_That's why they took them out, so your head wouldn't hurt so much, _Midnight said gently as he sat next to her.

She tried to talk to him through her head, but the pain! "Why does it hurt so much?"

_The others say it has to do with your magic._

"Hmmm…okay, until my head feels better, we shouldn't talk. It hurts way too much."

_As you wish._

Illiana came in with Max, "Good you're awake. We have to head off." Max came around to check on her.

With his hand on her forehead he said, "Her fever has gone down, but you never know."

"Wait, we're leaving?" Penny asked.

"Yes we stayed too long in this world."

"Max, maybe you should carry her. She shouldn't be walking around so soon," Illiana said picking up both their packs, making sure nothing was left behind.

"I can walk," Penny said roughly, pushing Max's hands away. She stood up, staggered a bit, but the floor rushed up to meet her. Max caught her in time and carried her out. Midnight and Star followed behind them.

Jayden joined them outside the hall, "I think I got everything. Someone should be here to do more research."

"We should go," Max said anxiously as he hurried to the door.

"Wait!" Belle came into view carrying a book.

"Sorry Belle, but we must go," Illiana said moving away with Max.

"I know but," she moved to Penny who was half unconscious, "stay safe and I hope you feel better soon." She gave the book to the girl and moved away. "I wish you all a safe journey." The group left the Heart and went into the dark night.

Once they were on the ship, Illiana took the wheel and set a course that Jayden gave her. Max headed down below with Penny. Midnight followed patiently, making sure his girl was safe. Max made it to the sleeping quarters and put her into her hammock. He turned to leave but she stopped him.

"What happened and why does my head hurt?" she had grabbed onto the back of his shirt, determined for some answers.

Max hesitated then knelt down to her side, "You used up too much of your magic, causing it to go out of control. It sucked up your energy making you weak and tired. You've been sleeping for two days trying to get all that energy back."

Penny stared at him trying to remember anything, but coming up blank, "But how did I lose control?"

"From what I understand from Jayden, it was your gloves. They block out most of your powers. When you take them off, it becomes wild and your body can't handle that much power."

"Oh…"

"You should sleep. Illiana is trying to heal you, but the best medicine is sleep. She is guessing you might be better tomorrow." Max excited the room, leaving Penny to think things over.

"I don't know if I can do this…" Penny whispered when she was alone. "I just want to go home. I knew this was a bad idea." She turned and fell right asleep. Midnight watched her with sadness and slept at her side.

The next morning the group was eating when Penny came into the room. She looked pale, but healthier than she did in the past few days. She sat down next to Illiana and put a few pancakes on her plate. The conversation slowly started back up.

"As I was saying, the next world is close. We are stopping there no matter what to get supplies. Hopefully this world will have plumbing," Illiana said, cutting up fruit. "I would like a bath and wash our clothes."

"The odds of that happening are slim but I agree. I couldn't get a good reading off this one," Jayden said.

"I don't think I want to," Penny whispered, pushing her food around the plate.

"What? What are you saying Penny?" Max asked as the others stopped talking.

"I'm tired of this journey. I want to go home."

"Penny, we had this discussion before…" Jayden said wearily.

"I want to go back."

"The Hearts, what are you going to do with them? This is whole point of this adventure," Illiana explained, trying to keep everyone calm.

"And you mean to tell me that you wanted this? I know that you didn't imagine your adventure to be like this. In fact, you probably wish I wasn't here! Well, you can have your wish come true for I want to go home!" Penny started to get louder and louder. "And I _scared_ her! I don't _ever_ want that to happen again!"

"Penny, Penny," Max knelt down in front of her, but she ignored him. "We are glad, happy to be here. I mean, we can go to every single world imaginable. We actually get to stay in worlds, meet people, and see everything. I, personally, couldn't have asked for a better mission."

"But, I…I don't know anymore. I miss my island," Penny said lamely.

"I think we should discuss this later when Penny isn't so tired. Besides you need to be healed before any decision is made. Not to mention we are close to our destination," Illiana said briskly getting out of her chair.

"I'll set up the spell. Max, grab any things we might need," Jayden said as he drained his coffee.

Penny sat in her chair as the boys left. Midnight sat waiting for any orders the humans might give him and keeping a watchful eye on Penny. Star flew to Penny to see if her fever is down and Illiana did the exact same thing.

"Fever is quite down. It spiked back up last night but it could be the after effect of your magic. You should eat more too, at least fruit. Vitamins are good for you. How's your head?" She put a bowel of fruit in front of her.

"It hurts depending on what I'm doing. I can't even talk to Midnight or the Hearts." She pulled out the beads from her pocket. Midnight whined as he listened.

"Well you did used up a lot of magic."

"So I hear."

Illiana watched her as she ate, "Despite what you think, I like this adventure. It reminds me of my father."

"Your father? Who's he?"

She hesitated but began her story, "He was a sharp shooter for the protectors much like I do. He was one of the first ones to become one." Illiana pulled a picture out of her pocket. "He was a great man. He used to take me with him when he practiced and he let me try sometimes."

"What happened?"

"It was the Great War against the Darkness. The protectors were ordered to protect the mages as they worked on the spell to banish them all. Dad was asked to help. I was ten and Angie and Andy were five and four. He died protecting them. After it happened, I used a magic potion that Jayden created for me to permanently dye my hair purple for him. My mom got really angry with me, but as angry as when she learned I was going to become a sharp shooter. I was taking his place instead of taking over the flower shop." Illiana had small tears rolling down her cheeks as the photo shook in her hand.

Penny reached out to hold her hands, "I'm sure he would be proud to know what you are doing."

She wiped her eyes and gently took her hands from under Penny's, "Thanks, but I think I should go get things ready. And you should also finish up eating." She left the room in a hurried pace.

Penny tried to eat as much as she can. With each bite, she could feel her strength returning.


	22. Chapter 22

TAoP Chapter 22

Jungle Fever

Penny ate as much as she could when Jayden came back into the kitchen. His staff was on his back and computer in his hand.

"The good news is we don't need a transport spell. We can land in the water. The bad news is that Illiana won't be able to wash her clothes."

"An island?" Penny asked as she cautiously put her beads in her hair. It didn't hurt as much, but she did get a slight headache.

"Actually it's Africa. I remember Donald talking about it during my lessons. This where Tarzan lives and a pit stop for many people. We can get as much fruit as we like and see if there are any messages for us. Also, it's a great time for you to relax."

"Donald has been here before?"

"Yea, he was one of the original protectors. He traveled with Goofy and the King."

Max popped his head in the room, "Hey, we're gonna land soon, so I'm reading the row boat. Penny, Illiana needs you up deck."

"Aye, aye!" Penny ran up the stairs, feeling like her old self. Midnight was excited as he followed her up deck along with Star.

Illiana was at the wheel when Penny arrived, "You needed me?" Penny bounded right next to her.

"Yes, as soon as we land, I need you to check to make sure the water is safe for a row boat. It should be fine but one cannot be too careful."

"But how can I get there without a boat?" Penny asked tilting her head to the side in confusing.

"By flying…"

"Oh right! Will do!" Penny watched the new world come closer. After hearing about Illiana's dad, she wondered about other things. "Hey, what about Jayden's parents? Are they protectors too?"

Illiana stiffened at the question, "Only his father. Please don't bring it up to Jayden. He doesn't like talking about it much."

"Why?" Penny asked, getting more curious.

"Just don't Penny. Okay?" Illiana stared at her waiting for an answer.

"Okay, okay. Sorry I asked."

_Some people like their privacy, Penny._ Midnight said, looking at Penny's expression.

_But I'm curious! I don't really know much about any of them._

_ They will tell you when the time is right. Be patient. And I'm glad that you are back to normal._

_ Well, almost normal. I still have a slight headache._

The ship landed in the ocean with a huge splash. On the island, all they could see was green; trees covered every inch of the place. The boys got the row boat ready while the girls packed crates for fruit. Midnight and Star watched while they worked.

"Okay, Penny. Fly over and see of it is okay place to row to," Max said loading the long boat.

"Will do!" Penny did a front flip over the side and flew towards the shore. Star flew around her watching the water. Penny dipped her hand into the ocean, letting the water rush up her hands. It felt cool to touch. The water was clear and she could see the bottom pretty good. There were no sand bars to overturn the boat, so it was a good place to travel. As she landed on the beach, she communicated with the others with her necklace.

_All clear!_

The long boat was dropped in the water and Penny had to wait until they came. Star flew higher than the trees to see how far the jungle goes. She couldn't where it did, but she did spot a tree house not far from the group. The fairy returned to report to Penny.

"A tree house? I wonder what's there…" The boat finally made it ashore and Penny rushed to help pull it up.

"Okay, we should travel in teams, so we don't get lost," Max suggested as the leader. "Since Donald and my dad have been here, they told us, meaning me and Jayden, about this place. So it makes sense that I go with Penny and Jayden and Illiana are a team. Right, any questions?"

Illiana raised her hand, "Who made you leader?"

"Since I'm the oldest and…am older than you guys. Don't ask me why I was made leader!"

She laughed, "It's all good! Just weird hearing you giving out orders like that."

"Well, if anyone has any suggestions, I'm willing to hear them."

Jayden took out his staff and grabbed crates, "Nah, it's a good plan. We'll take this path and you guys take that one. We'll meet up before the sun sets."

"Okay that works. C'mon Penny, let's go!" Max stacked some crates and followed the trail. Penny fell behind him, only carrying one crate since that's all they will let her carry. They walked under the cool canopy of the trees with the sun filtered through the leaves. There were bird songs throughout the trees and other animal noises. Penny was itching to climb the trees.

"You sure Tarzan is the only one who lives here?" Penny asked, feeling the ever familiar presences.

"Last time we checked. Why, do you feel a Heart?" Max said carefully walking the path.

"Kinda. It's pretty faint though."

"Guess we'll stay here a day then. This place is very big. We could always ask Tarzan if he knows anything."

_This place is also very peaceful. A perfect place for you to recover after all that has happen. Maybe even practice without hurting anyone, _Midnight added taking all the different smells in this world.

_I'm perfectly fine! It was just a random spell thing. I don't understand why everyone freaked out._

_ They were worried about you._

Penny rolled her eyes as she walked into Max, who stopped in the trail.

"Oof! A little warning next time!" she rubbed her nose and glared up at him.

"Sorry, but I did tell you this was the spot. You were the one not paying attention." Max dropped the crates and pointed up in the trees. "This is what we came for."

Up in the trees were bananas, mangos, some that looked like stars and many other fruits that Penny did not recognize. And, naturally, they were at the very top of the trees. Penny looked at the tree branches, thinking.

"Okay, you go fly up there and grab as much as you can and delivery it in this crate," Max suggested.

"Or, I could climb the trees and drop them in the crates," Penny offered as the climbed the nearest branch.

"Why climb when you can fly?"

"More of a challenge! And Star will be right next to me just in case I were to fall. She has to save her dust until the next time we head home."

Penny grabbed the next branch and started the slow climb up. Star sat on her shoulder to make sure she didn't make any foolish mistakes. Midnight fidgeted from below, whining as she watched her progress up. Max just sighed and put the crates beneath the trees for falling fruits. What none of them realized was they were being watched.

"Do you think the others had any more luck finding anything?" Illiana asked as she and Jayden followed their path. It led them to a lagoon with a huge waterfall at the end of it. Not to the fruit they were hoping for.

"Who knows? We clearly didn't choose the right path," Jayden answered as he wiped his face with the edge of his shirt. It was humid in the jungle with not a fresh breath of cool air. The water in the lagoon was too tempting to pass up. "I suppose we should rest here for awhile. It's too hot to walk."

Illiana knelt down to take a drink of water. She also splashed herself in attempt to cool off. Jayden watched her from the corner of his eye, thinking about the ball gown she wore at the party.

"I wonder how many more parties we will have to go to while on this adventure," Jayden mused, trying to bring up a conversation.

"I don't know, but I hope they are as good as the last one. It was so much fun with all the dancing and music. By the way, who taught you to dance like that?" Illiana asked as she flashed him a grin.

Jayden cleared his throat, blushing, "Well, living in the castle and having Donald as a teacher…Daisy taught me, alright? She wanted to teach me when she found out that I couldn't."

"Well I thought you were quite the dancer."

"Not when I was first learning. I don't think Daisy's feet will ever feel the same."

Illiana laughed and Jayden joined. He loved to make her laugh and smile like that. He couldn't help the way he felt about her. He was hoping that she felt the same way because he was about to something stupid.

"Illiana…" he began as he grabbed her hand. But she was already shaking her head as if she could guess what he was about to say.

"Jay, I know how you feel, but…" she sighed.

"What's stopping us?"

"It's Penny. I never realized how much attention she acquired and you were the one who picked her up," Illiana pointed out. "But I feel as if she needs us more than ever."

"Yea well, we won't be out here forever. Illiana, please."

"I'm sorry. It will be too much." She stood up, took some crates, and walked down the path without looking back.

Jayden sat there at the edge of the lagoon cursing himself. He did know how important their mission was, but they shouldn't have to only focus on it. He took one last drink and turned to follow her only to find something else behind him.

Penny stuck out her tongue as she reached for the last fruit on the branch, but it was too far from her reach. She scooted further down the branch she was standing on until she only had one foot on and her arms spread out for balance. Her other foot was straight back behind her like a ballerina as she reached for it again. Midnight watched from below with concern.

_I still don't understand why you can't fly,_ he called.

_Because where is the fun in that?_ She asked grasping the banana. "Yes I got it!" she yelled as the branch she was on snapped in half. At first she didn't really react, but as she started to fall, she tried to grab a branch. That plan didn't work as well as planned.

_I told you this would happen! _Midnight barked to get Max's attention. Max turned back to the tree to find Penny falling. He dove to catch her as she was closer to the ground. Penny opened her eyes and found Max scolding at her.

"Next time fly so that I don't get a heart attack." Max dropped her on the ground.

"Oof! Sorry! It wasn't my fault! You didn't have to drop me." She grumbled as she brushed herself off.

_You deserved it since it was your idea. _

_ Whatever! You're just glad that I'm okay._

Penny reached down for a crate when she heard a noise coming from behind them. Both she and Midnight froze as the noise grew louder and closer. "Max…"

A huge animal came barreling through the trees and towards them.


	23. Chapter 23

TAoP Chapter 23

Lost

Penny pushed Max out of the way, as she dived for cover. Midnight followed her as the animal stomped towards them. Penny heard what the elephant was saying, but only slightly.

"Oh, gotta warn Tarzan! A boat! Here! I hope I'm not too late!" he used his long nose to push tree branches out of his way. He stepped on the crates without noticing and continued up the path.

Penny and Midnight came out to stare as the elephant nearly destroyed everything in its path.

_What's his rush? _Penny asked. She gasped when she saw the crates, "The fruit!"

Max picked himself up as Penny came to help, "That must've been Tantor." He brushed the leaves from his pants. "He's probably freaking out about the ship."

"He was talking about the ship. And Tarzan."

"Guess it was only a matter of time. We should visit the camp where he lives. Maybe he has some information from other travelers."

"But what about the fruit?" Midnight ate some of the smashed fruit as he searched for some survivors.

"If we are lucky, maybe Tarzan will have some." Max went to communicate with Jayden and Illiana while Penny mourned over the loss of food.

_You just ate. How can you be hungry? _Midnight asked.

_I'm always hungry. Shouldn't you know this by now? And since I apparently used magic, I have to make sure I get some of it back! And so I need food._

"Hmmm…it seems that Jayden has met up with some one. Anyways, how faint is that string?" Max asked standing next to her.

"Er…pretty faint, but I wager it is somewhere over there," Penny pointed toward the path the elephant made.

"Good, we'll follow that until Tarzan comes," Max took out his sword and started walking. Penny followed suit along with Midnight. It felt good to have her sword in her hand, but she hoped she didn't have to use magic. She made a note to beg Jayden to teach her more no matter what.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask, what is skateboarding? Jayden said you were the best at it."

"Ah skateboarding. It's where you have a long piece of wood with four wheels. You stand on it while it moves," Max tried to explain.

"That's it? Sounds easy to do."

"Okay Miss Confident, you also have to do tricks on it while it moves. I'll show you sometime."

"Deal! What's a university?"

"Boy, you're full of questions aren't ya?"

"I'm curious. So what is it?"

Max took awhile before he answered, "It's where you go for school. The last place you go before you get a job and work for the rest of your life."

"School? Jobs?" Penny asked even more confused.

"A place to learn. You would learn to read and write. Plus, math, science, and other things. I went to the university for awhile before I became a knight. The letters I got were from my best buddies, Pj and Bobby."

"Oh…do you miss them?"

"Yea I do. But I like this better than sitting in classes."

Suddenly something—or someone—jumped in front of them. Max jumped back with his sword out in front of him, but immediately dropped it. In front of them was a tall man wearing practically nothing but a loincloth.

"Tarzan?" Max asked, a little unsure now.

"Goofy?" the man grunted coming closer.

"Uh…no actually I'm his son, Max. But we would like to see if anyone left a message."

"Come with me."

After a long time of walking in silence, the small group finally made it to their destination. Past a clump of trees was a free space with a campsite, complete with tents, charts, tables, campfire, and a scientist set. In the campsite was Jayden talking to a small man, practically Penny's height and the elephant standing nervously to the side. There were also some gorillas on the outskirts of the camp as if standing guard.

"Oh, Tarzan, there you are. This boy is from that traveling warriors group. Do you have any news from any others?" the little man asked as they came into view.

"Ask Jane. She might know." Penny had a flash of yellow-green come to mind.

"Jane?" she asked causally, walking around the campsite and picking up fruit that was lying around.

"She's my wife," Tarzan said.

"And she's my daughter. We came here to study the gorillas and we have decided to live here. Of course, it is great to have people visit us, especially from the homeland."

"And where is that?" Penny mumbled around the banana.

"Why England. Aren't you from there? You have a slight accent."

Penny tilted her head confused, much like what Midnight does, when Max intervened.

"Hey, uh, where's Illiana?"

"Oh right. Umm…she may or may not be lost," Jayden said, fiddling with his glasses.

Max looked at him. "How did you lose her? Have you tried the necklace?"

"Uh…we got separated and she went ahead of me. I think she took off her necklace."

"Where did you lose her?"

"What's with all the questions? What, you think it's my fault?" Jayden's temper flared. "She's the one that walked away from me! Sorry that I don't have all the answers, oh Great Leader!"

"Woah, woah, woah!" Penny jumped between them as Max walked over towards him with a frown. Midnight pulled on Max's shirt from behind. "He was only asking questions, Jay. But it has been a long day for all of us. We haven't been home in awhile, but we've never acted this way before. We can't be fighting each other."

"Well, it's all your fault anyways, Penny! None of this would've happened if you never came!" Jayden looked at her.

"Hey! Don't blame Penny for your stupid mistake, whatever it is! She's not the problem!" Max yelled as Penny looked shocked and hurt.

"What did I do wrong?" She asked quietly as Midnight growled slightly.

_Don't listen to him. He's only trying to find someone else to blame._

"Everything! Everything was fine until we found you! Dammit!" Jayden stared to walk away.

Penny's own temper flared as Porter tried to step in, "Now children, please. There is no reason to fight." But everyone ignored him.

"Well, maybe I never wanted to go on this stupid journey anyways! I've always wanted to go home! I don't know what is going on with you, but it taking me back will solve it, then that's what I will do!" Penny ran out of the campsite without another glance.

_Wait, Penny! _Midnight tried to catch up, but she grabbed a tree branch and swung herself into the jungle. He lost her. Plus she was blocking him from her mind.

"Great, now we lost her too! Is this your plan?" Max accused Jayden.

"Don't pin this on me! Like you don't regret coming with us instead of staying at the university!" Jayden yelled back.

Before Max could retort, Tarzan finally stepped in, "Enough! You are friends. You are family. Family don't fight. Must stay in each other's hearts."

Both the boys glared at one another until it was Jayden who walked away.

Penny landed heavily on the tree branch almost out of breath. She reached for her necklace and ripped it off so no one could talk to her. She nearly threw it out of the tree, but something held her back. As she looked at it, she remembered a happy memory of them laughing and smiling. Instead of throwing it, she looped it over a tree branch that was above her head.

Penny looked out into the horizon and saw the entire jungle. Birds flew all over the tree tops as the occasional monkey swung the vines. The sun was going down, leaving some of the areas dark and mysterious. She had landed in the tree that had the tree house built in it and after a quick look around, she discovered it was empty. Well, for now. It had currently some clothes she guessed belonged to the father-daughter duo. She sensed the Heart was here, but was now traveling towards the campsite.

_Does every world have a Heart?_ She asked herself.

Even as she tried to focus on the view, her thoughts drifted to what Jayden said.

"Is it really my fault?" She asked out loud as if someone would give her the answer. Star then came out of her pocket to cheer the girl up. She was hiding in there when the Big People started yelling. They really hurt her ears.

Starlight chimed gently to her.

"But think on it, they are on this journey because of me. If I had never left Neverland, everything would've been fine. I should've stayed."

_That's not true! Penny, this all happened for a reason, _Minnie's voice sounded in her head.

_Minnie…_

_ Penny, I'm glad to have met you! You made the palace seem brighter and interesting, _Jasmine added.

_if you had never came to the castle, I would still be having my nightmares haunt me, _Belle joined in the conversation.

_Yes, and I'm sure your teammates feel the same about you as you towards them,_ Amelia pointed out.

_I wish they did but Jayden accused me of being at fault,_ Penny explained after she tried to block them. She wasn't in the mood to talk to them.

_Explain to me what happened,_ Minnie requested.

_I guess Jayden talked to Illiana and now they aren't talking? Maybe? Who knows. Jayden didn't really explain anything really. I'm only just guessing._

_ Oh, Penny. I think I understand now. Have you ever heard of love?_

_ Love? Is it contagious?_

The Hearts laughed, _No dear, it's when a man feels for a woman…, _Jasmine tried to explain, but failing.

_Maybe she is too young to understand,_ Amelia said.

Penny frowned, _Why does everyone treat me like a child? I can understand things!_

She took the beads out of her hair so they can't talk to her. She sat there, sulking as the sun left the sky.

"Damn…" Penny whispered in the dark.


	24. Chapter 24

TAoP Chapter 24

Regrets and Explanations

The sun glared in Penny's eyes, demanding her to wake up. She groaned and shifted on the branch when she felt someone close to her. She slowly grabbed her dagger and then sprang quickly into action. But it was only Tarzan, who grabbed her hand to stop her.

"Oh!" Penny cried in surprise. She put her dagger away as the memories of yesterday came flooding back.

"Everyone looking for you. Good thing I did," he said as Penny stretched.

"Why? So they can all yell at me again?"

"But they friends. They worry."

"Yea, well, Jayden should've thought of that before he went all crazy on me."

"Do you really think that? Aren't you being a bit harsh?" A female voice asked.

Penny looked down, already guessing who it was. A lady wearing a light yellow shirt with a faded green skirt climbed up to sit with them. She had a slight accent and straight brown hair.

"Jane." Tarzan introduced as Penny flinched at the power.

"Ah, Tarzan, why don't you go back and let the boys know we found her," Jane sat next to Penny.

"Alright, but don't take too long." He swung away on some vines.

They sat in silence as Penny put her beads and necklace back on. As soon as she did, all the Heart's feelings and thoughts flooded in, making her head hurt. She also let Midnight back in her head but he hasn't said anything.

"So do you want to talk about it for just continue sitting her in silence?" Jane asked.

"Sorry, but not really," Penny answered as she pulled her knees to her chest, staring at the horizon.

"Alright, your friends explained to me about the Hearts. I believe you're supposed to give me something."

"Okay." Penny reached into her pouch and grabbed the beads. "You're supposed to put some of yourself into this so that we can always be connected. And I give you one, so you should wear it as a necklace or something like that." She handed one bead over to Jane. Once again she was tying another bead into her hair. _My head will be so colorful by the time I meet them all._

"Thank you. I shall have to find some string to put this on. Now I'm sure you are hungry, why don't we go back to the campsite to grab something and see everyone?"

Penny thought for awhile and sighed, "Okay, but if Jay starts yelling again, I'm leaving."

The campsite was just as Penny last saw it, only Illiana was back. Penny ran over to her as Midnight ran to her and tackled her to the ground.

_There you are! _He started licking her face.

She laughed, _Yes, I'm fine! Sorry to worry you! It won't happen again. I promise. I had Star with me so I was safe._

_ I think Jayden feels really bad. I heard him explain everything to Max._

_ I hope so…_

Midnight finally let Penny up when Illiana came over.

"Penny, I have to apologize to you," she said.

"Why? You didn't do anything wrong," Penny sat up as Jane brought some fruit over. "Thanks!" She took a huge bite of a random fruit.

"There are some things I have to explain to you. After we eat, Jane is taking us to a place where we can bathe. I will explain everything then."

"Okay, if you say so." The boys came out of the tent and spotted the girls.

"Glad that Tarzan found ya, Penny!" Max ruffled her hair and stole her food.

"Oi! That's mine! Get your own!" She snatched it back and licked it all around.

"Ewwww! Penny that's gross!"

"Then don't touch."

"Penny…" Jayden began, "I just want to say, sorry for the way I acted. It was stupid of me. So still friends?" He put his hand out for a handshake.

Penny looked at it, "Nay, not friends." Jayden looked shocked. "We're family. You guys are my brothers and sister! Much like the Lost Boys."

"Thanks, Pen," He also ruffled her hair, "Right, down to business. Max, if you please."

"Got it. So there are no messages for us here, but we have visited lots of worlds already. So my suggestion would be to visit a couple of worlds before we head home and refresh ourselves," Max proposed.

"Home! How I miss it!" Illiana stretched.

Penny raised her hand with a look of confusion.

"Yes, Penny?" Max looked at her.

"When you say home, do you mean Fantasia?"

"It's your home too. Think about what Minnie would say if you didn't come back."

"Oh…right." She looked disappointed.

_They are right. It is your home too. _Midnight said, putting his head on her lap.

_I know that. But I just wanted to see Peter and to explain everything to him. Let him know I'm okay._

Jane watched them as they discussed their plans, until she interrupted them, "Why don't you boys go do whatever you need to do while I take the girls to a bath. When we are done, you are welcome to take one too."

"Good idea, Jane. We'll collect more food," Jayden said.

"Fantastic! Follow me girls." Jane led them down a path that seemed less traveled than the others. Penny, Midnight, and Illiana followed closely so they wouldn't get lost. The girl watched the birds fly around, collecting twigs and such for their nests. They were chatting about a big storm that was coming soon.

Penny listened and finally brought it up, "The birds keep talking about a huge storm that is coming."

"Really?" Jane looked up at the sky. "Well, I'll take your word for it. We should move quickly then."

Few minutes more and they stumbled up a small little pond, perfect for baths. There were even some big rocks to sit on in the water. Midnight had already jumped into the water, too impatient for the girls. He had managed to splash them all as he jumped.

"Ahh! Midnight!" Illiana yelled as her clothes were getting soaked.

Penn laughed and was about to jump in with him when Illiana grabbed her.

"Wait! Take off your clothes."

"Ehhh? But I'm not taking a bath!" Penny struggled out of her hold but couldn't.

"Oh yes you are! You need to take one."

"No!" Penny took off her shirt and managed to escape Illiana's grasp. She turned around with a wicked grin and with a wave of her right hand, she splashed Illiana again.

"Ergh! Penny, that's cold!"

"Hahaha! You can't get me!" she taunted as Jane snuck up and pushed her into the water. "Yikes that is cold!" Penny stuck her left hand in and started to heat up the water for the other girls. Once it was the right temperature, the others got in and started to chat. Illiana got soap out from her bag and started to wash her hair. Penny noticed her hair only went a little bit past her shoulders. After listening to them talk, she grew bored and decided to watch the fish swim past her underwater. But somebody grabbed her.

"What now?" she sputtered water out of her mouth and glared at Illiana.

"I have to wash your hair. And explain what is going on."

"Fine." Penny sat in front of her and waited impatiently to be done. They never took baths in Neverland.

"My, she is a lively one, isn't she?" Jane observed as Illiana washed.

"You have no idea." Illiana took her time lathering the soap into the short hair as she collected her thoughts. "Penny, have you ever heard of love?"

"It's when a man has feelings for a woman, right?" she wrinkled her nose at the thought.

"Er…right, kinda. Where did you learn that?"

"Jasmine tried to explain, but couldn't really do it."

"Right, well, let's just say that me and Jayden have liked each other for a long time, but haven't really…ummm talked about it."

"Why?" Penny started to make bubbles, not really paying attention.

"Well, it's because this mission demands so much attention that we don't have much time to talk."

"So what?"

"Jayden just gets impatient. So don't mind him if he's in one of his moods. It's just how he is."

"Okay, no problem!" Penny ducked underwater to get rid of the soap in her hair as the rain came down.

"Ahh, of course it would start to come down now," Jane complained, "And you handled that well."

"Yea, but I think Penny didn't really understand it because she never has felt it." Illiana got out, but couldn't find her towel. "Curses! Penny a little help."

"What can I do?" Penny got out of the water and stood there.

"First cover up! Nobody wants to see you in your….umm chest cloth."

"You didn't mind before!"

"But what if someone comes? Then can you use your heat to dry the water?"

"I can try." Penny walked over to her, while grabbing her shirt from the ground. She waved her left hand around Illiana while imagining hot air blowing. In a few seconds, Illiana was completely dry. Until the rain came down harder.

"Wow! Much faster than a hair dryer. Can you do something about this rain?"

"What am I? Your magic servant?"

"Do you want the practice or not?"

Penny grumbled as she created a giant bubble around them. The water rolled down the sides and the girls were dry.

"Well done. Can you dry me next?" Jane asked. Penny did her too as Midnight came in the bubble and shook himself dry.

"Midnight! Not in here!" Illiana yelled.

_Oops! Sorry._

Penny laughed as something rustled in the bushes behind them, "What was that?" Jane asked.

"I dunno, but you better stay behind me," Penny pushed Jane behind her and was about to grab her sword when something tackled her.


	25. Chapter 25

TAoP Chapter 25

What Else Could Go Wrong?

As Penny fell to the ground, she lost control of the bubble, soaking everyone again. Whatever was on top of her, it was fury, freaking out, and heavy. Midnight barked at the thing, trying to get her out but she was stuck.

"Penny, hold on!" Illiana fumbled for her guns.

"No wait! Don't scare her," Jane grabbed Illiana. "She's a friend."

"Well can she get off me!" Penny could hardly breathe.

Jane grabbed the thing—which turned out to be a gorilla—and started talking to her. Penny could only understand a little bit of what they were saying as she created another bubble. But when she heard her mention strange creatures, she decided to pay attention.

"Slow down Turk. You're talking way too fast for me," Jane said while holding the gorilla still.

"What else is there to tell? Huge flying monster coming out of nowhere! We have to run," Turk was practically dragging Jane away.

Penny looked towards where Turk had come from and started listening hard. There was no birds chirping and outside the bubble, only the sound of dripping water was heard. _When did it get so silent?_

_ We must've let our guard down. Be careful. We don't know what is out there, _Midnight observed.

"Perhaps we should head back," Penny suggested, grabbing her sword.

"See! That's what I've been saying!" Turk yelled.

"What's wrong?" Illiana asked.

"Just something doesn't feel right. Jane, go ahead of us with Turk."

"Alright. C'mon," Jane led the way. Turk followed closely behind with Illiana, who took her guns out. Penny brought up the rear, finally putting her shirt on. It was still too quiet for her liking.

_I'm not really smelling anything, but it could be the rain affecting me, _Midnight said, walking beside her.

Before Penny could say anything, something shrieked above their heads. She looked up as the thing exploded from the trees, charging straight at them. Penny tried to block it, but it batted her away like she was some kind of bug. She crashed into the trees and fell heavily on her knees.

"Penny!" Illiana yelled as she tried to shoot the flying creature. "It's a Nyght-creature! How in the worlds did it get here?" She was missing the beast as it swerved around, going straight at Jane. The woman and the gorilla were clutching each other as it got closer. But Midnight intervened. He lunged himself at its neck and bit it with all his might. The Nyght-creature gave a terrible shriek as the wolf used his teeth and claws, but with just one hit with his arm, sent Midnight right to the ground.

Penny finally came to her senses and got a good look at the creature. It had a horrible reptile head with sharp looking teeth and red eyes. Its horns on the head looked equally as sharp as the teeth. The wings on the back looked like dragons wings, but the creature could walk on two legs when on the ground. Its grey skin looked like it had been carved out of stone. All in all, it looked to be way too powerful for just the two of them.

The girl immediately sprang into action, swinging her sword, hoping to get even one hit in, but it knocked her sword right out of her hands. She heard it clang behind her as she watched the blood red eyes stare right into her. As it raised its hand to hit her, a shield came out of nowhere and hit is squarely in the head.

"Penny, Illiana, get back!" Max yelled as he ran and jumped with his sword raised above his head. But the knock in the head didn't do much damage since the Nyght-creature backhanded Max right out of the air. He hit a tree and with a groan, laid there unmoving.

"Max!" Illiana ran towards him, still shooting at it, but her focus wasn't there. As she ran to heal her fallen friend, the creature was about to spring on them when a rock hit its head. It turned to see what it was; it was Jayden lifting rocks from around him and shooting them to draw its attention.

It gave another shriek and turned towards him. Jayden paled as he tried to create a barrier. Penny snapped out of her daze and looked for the creature.

_It has wings. Maybe I can lure him away from the others._

_ Wha-wait, Penny don't! _Midnight howled as Penny jumped on its back and flew towards the trees. The creature glared at her as she hovered there.

"Bet you can't out fly me!" she taunted. Star chimed angrily at her as the creature lunged. Penny moved quickly away and sped off somewhere safe. She flew the fastest she has ever done towards a mountain she spotted. Just then she realized she didn't have her sword.

"Aww man! Just my luck!" she yelled at herself. She glanced back behind her to see if the monster was there. It wasn't. She slowed down, turning around to see if she could spot it when a great weight landed on top of her causing her to lose her happy thought. Penny struggled against its hold, but it dug its claws into her and she hissed at the pain. She watched the trees grow closer and felt her whole body slam into a branch. She gasped in pain and rolled over on her side to get up.

The Nyght-creature landed on the branch with her and watched her struggle to get up. Lightening lit up the sky as the rain came down harder, making it difficult to see. Penny finally got up, blinking away the little black dots in front of her eyes. But when was temporally blind, the creature scratched her left side, causing her to lose focus again. Pain shot up, making her body go numb with shock. She clutched her left arm, feeling the damage instead of looking at it. The wound was deep and her arm was completely useless.

Penny glared at the beast as it watched her as if she was a play thing.

"Okay, you got my attention. And I'm only gonna tell you once: stay away from the Hearts," she said to it, as the voices of those Hearts invaded her mind, but she pushed them away. With a wave of her right hand, she caused the rain to stop falling only in the small area around them. She had noticed the creature was completely soaked from the rain.

As if reading her mind, the Nyght-creature lounged towards her with intense speed. Penny calmly lifted her blue gloved hand and imagined the creature freezing. She closed her eyes and waved her hand, waiting for anything. It all happened so fast that she didn't know if it had worked, but when she opened her eyes, she found the creature frozen on the branch. Its arm just inches away from her chest.

She sat down with a sigh of relieve and contacted the others.

_Guys, I stopped it, but I don't know for how long. I'm sending you guys a picture and path of where I am._

Penny didn't hear a response as she fainted again.

Something was shaking her and speaking, but she couldn't make out the words. She fought against the darkness and soon she could hear everything.

"C'mon Penny! Wake up!"

She forced her eyes open and saw Jayden leaning over her. He sighed in relief when he saw her green eyes.

"Thank the gods."

"She's up?" Soon Illiana came into her vision. "That was close."

Penny quickly got up and looked around, "Where is it? I didn't lose it, did I?" She staggered a bit as Illiana grabbed her.

"No we got it. Don't worry, just lie back down. You got hurt pretty badly."

She sat back down again as Midnight came over to see how she was.

_That was a very foolish thing you did._

_ I know and I'm sorry! I never think about these things._

_ But I'm glad that you are alright. It's just the way you are, I guess._

Penny grinned at him and hugged him tightly. Max had come over and was talking to the others. She watched them, knowing they were deciding the next step they should take. She sighed as she glanced at her arm.

_Ouch, it really hurts!_

_ Illiana said that she was able to do all that she could, but it's not completely healed. You must be careful with it._

Penny examined it more closely. Her shirt was ruined from the scratch so they didn't bother trying to fix it. They even used the shirt for binding since they didn't have anything else to use. But that wasn't what was bothering her. It was the fact that she could feel the heat coming off from her left side. _Did it always do that or did it start when I learned about magic?_

The trio came over to her and sat in a circle. They looked exhausted, but there were still important things to discuss.

"Okay, Penny, tell us what happened when you left," Jayden said wiping his glasses off.

She hesitated, but she slowly told them what happened. She didn't leave anything out and they didn't ask any questions. When she finished, they sat in silence.

Finally it was Max who broke it, "Wow, for a ten year old that is very impressive."

"But very stupid and risky. Mostly we were the ones who were stupid, but you did well," Jayden added.

"Why? What did you do wrong?" Penny asked confused.

"We never really told you how to defeat a Nyght-creature," Illiana explained. "We thought we would never run into one, but clearly we were wrong."

"So how do you defeat it?"

"By cutting off its head," Max answered. "That's why you never leave your sword behind. These guys are on a completely different level than the Shadows. You have to be more careful."

Penny nodded her head in understanding but soon got dizzy.

Jayden stood up with a sigh, "We better be heading out."

The group stood at the water's edge, loading the boat with supplies. Penny paused at her work as her left arm gave a twinge with every movement. Illiana had healed it so she could move it again, but it still wasn't healed all the way. The others finally forced her to stop working, so she sat next to Jane and watched them.

"Will you come back to visit us?" Jane asked as she put the finishing touches on Penny's new shirt. It was only temporary until she got her old one from the ship.

"Of course I will. But don't forget that you can talk to me anytime you want," Penny pointed to her bead that was hanging around her neck. The others had finished loading when the sun was going down for the day.

"Just enough daylight to get us going," Max said as they plied in. They had said their good-byes and left notes for the next group that might come here.

As they made it back to their ship, they quickly got the ship airborne and into the galaxy. The group, tired from the long day, hardly ate anything when something ran into their ship.

Illiana groaned, "Now what? What did we do to deserve this?"

Penny made it to the top first to find a small spaceship, like their original one, landing on the deck. The ship was red and black. On the side was painted, _The Fire Arrow_.

The others made it up top when the door opened and Donald and Goofy stepped out. The four of them stood in shock as they approached them.

"Dad, what are you—" Max started until he was interrupted.

"Actually, I should be the one asking that question," a new voice that Penny didn't recognize called from the ship. Jayden froze as a tall, lean figure stepped out.

"Would you like to answer that, Jayden?"

"Dad?"


	26. Chapter 26

TAoP Chapter 26

Unexpected Visitor

Penny looked back and forth between Jayden and his dad. They looked completely different from each other. Jayden's father wore all black, making him a black mage, if she remembered right. His eyes were a flat brown compared to Jayden's sea blue color. The only thing they really shared was the brown hair, but even his father wore it differently. It was long and pulled into a pony tail with streaks of gray in some areas.

The shock disappeared from Jayden as he asked another question, "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be on Montressor?" He stood stiffly as Illiana and Max exchanged nervous glances. Penny just looked confused.

_What's going on?_ She asked holding on to Midnight.

_I'm not sure. Have you ever met this man before? I don't remember seeing him,_ Midnight said feeling the tension in the air.

_No never. I would definitely remember this guy._

"The King and Queen asked me to drive these two to your last known location. I was more than happy to accept. I wanted to see how you were doing," he looked around at Illiana and Max. "And how are you?"

"We're fine, sir. You?" Illiana said, being polite.

"Never better." His eyes rested on Penny. Even though his tone was friendly, Penny couldn't help moving closer to Midnight. His eyes seemed cold. "And is this the girl I've been hearing about?"

"Penny," she said bluntly before anyone else. "I'm Penny. Not girl."

Jayden's father blinked in surprise, but smiled to cover it up, "Of course, how foolish of me. Then, Penny, my name is Fredrick." He put his hand out for her to shake it, but Penny merely nodded and looked back at Jayden. His face was unreadable.

"Well, now that pleasantries are done, we need to talk," Fredrick said after an uncomfortable silence.

"Alright, about what?" Max asked.

He didn't answer, but stared at Penny. Illiana got the message, "Umm Penny, why don't you go down to eat? You must be starving."

"I want to eat with everyone. Besides, I want to hear," Penny pouted.

"This is not for a child's ear," Fredrick said, slightly losing patience.

"Penny's not a child! She has proven herself to be great warrior. And she is part of the team," Jayden argued back.

Donald finally stepped in, "Sorry Jayden, but we think this is for the best."

Jayden glared at them, but they didn't move. Finally, he sighed, "Fine." He turned Penny to him, "Sorry, but you're gonna have to go down below."

"But…" she looked at the trio.

"Not now Penny. Why don't you practice some magic?"

She gave them one last look and headed down to the sleeping quarters. None of the hammocks were up, so this was the biggest space available. She snapped her left hand about five times to get some light in the room. She then lit the lanterns to make the room brighter.

_I wonder what they are talking about,_ Penny said as she stretched her left arm. It had started to tense up.

_I was wondering that myself._ Midnight laid down by the doorway watching her. _And what was up with Jayden's dad?_

_ He seems…cold. Did you see the way Jayden froze? I don't think I like him._

_ Neither do I. I can kinda_ _see why he doesn't talk about him much._

_ Yes, it was strange all together. Alright, time to work!_

Penny stood in the middle of the room, breathing deeply. She had wondered if she could just use the water in her hand for magic instead of having it come from a different source. The only problem would be the glove. She had to get around that somehow. _But if I can do it with fire, I should be able to it with water._

Taking in a deep breath, she snapped her right hand. Nothing. She snapped it harder, willing the water to come out. Still nothing. She snapped her left hand this time and got a fireball sitting on her palm. Penny closed her hand, extinguishing the fire. _Okay I can do this. Concentrate._

_ Keep your mind focus purely on the water, _Midnight suggested. He turned one ear to the stairway, where the voices above deck got louder.

Right before Penny could do anything, the yelling interrupted her.

"SHE'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" Jayden's voice echoed down below.

Penny and Midnight looked at each other and flew up the stairs. They found everyone in the same positions, but her friends looked troubled. Illiana scared, Max frowning, and Jayden furious.

"It's not your decision!" Fredrick said back.

"It's not yours either! She's our teammate," Max said, gripping Jayden by the shoulder.

"Son, we think it's for the best. By the reports we get from you and Minnie's concern, we must do something," Goofy tried to calm everyone down.

"We've been doing fine with her. The King trusted us to take care of her. We've been doing our job," Illiana stepped in.

"Yes, by letting her get away from you can letting your emotions get in the way of your job," Jayden's father's eyes flashed in her direction. Illiana blushed and glared at him.

"It wasn't her fault. It was mine. If there is anyone to blame, it's me. You have no right to talk to her that way," Jayden retorted.

"Enough!" Donald said before anyone else. "Now, we have to settle this like grown-ups. Let's talk calmly."

"Don't I have a say in this?" Penny called over softly. They all turned to her in shock.

"Penny," Illiana walked over to her. She put her hand on the water arm, "Sorry did we disturb you? Or was it your arm?"

"It's a little sore, but that's not important. Don't I get to decide whether I leave or not?"

"Of course not. You're a child. Let us adults handle this," Fredrick said.

"She's not a child! She can handle anything on her own! You should've seen her against the Shadows or…or with the Nyght-creature," Max said and instantly regretted it.

"Nyght-creature! When did this happen?" Donald demanded, tapping his foot impatiently.

"It was going to be in our next report. There was a Nyght-creature in Tarzan's world. We handled it," Illiana explained as she examined Penny's arm.

Donald sighed, "Did Penny get hurt?"

"Yes, it scratched her. I can't heal it all the way though."

"Let me take a look at it."

Penny stood still as Donald examined to wound. All that was left was a nasty scar that went from her shoulder all the way to her wrist. She didn't mind the scarring; she just wished she had full usage of her arm again. Before Donald could place his hand on her arm, she backed away. He gave her a confused look.

"Hang on a sec, I run a hotter temperature on this arm than the other one," Penny explained, concentrating on the fire. She lowered the heat as far as she could. "Alright, it might be good now."

Donald took out his staff and begun the healing. Goofy came over to them.

"Since this is about you, why don't you tell us what you want to do?"

"Sir Goofy, I must protest this—" Fredrick began.

"I agree with Goofy. As did the Queen," Donald said still concentrating on the healing. "We just wanted to explain the situation with them."

"What situation?" Penny asked, wincing at the healing. She can feel her own power draining from keeping the heat back.

"Like how you were never to take your gloves off, but you did."

"I did it to protect the Heart."

"Where were the others?" Goofy asked.

"They were searching for any Darkness activities. I stayed behind because Belle asked me to."

"What about the beads? Minnie got worried when she couldn't sense you for a whole night."

"That was my own fault. I promise not to do it again," Penny said, thinking that she has made a lot of promises on this journey.

"Okay, I believe you." Goofy smiled at the girl. Penny grinned back as Donald backed up.

"Alright, that's healed up! I tried to get rid of most of the scarring, but couldn't get all of it."

"Thank you!" Penny looked at it and immediately tried it out. She did flips and rolls and back flips to test its strength. She climbed the rigging and walked on her hands. It was truly healed; no pain can be felt. "Good as new!"

"Excellent! I guess I should study more healing," Illiana said as she watched Penny play around.

"I wish to test her," Fredrick announced suddenly.

Jayden looked at him like he was crazy," What? Why? What for?"

"To see if she is learning properly."

"Shouldn't Donald test her then? He is the master mage," Max pointed out.

"Test me?" Penny came back into the conversation. She cocked her head in confusion.

"To see how well you are learning your magic," Donald explained. "But the King asked Fredrick if he could test her," he looked at Jayden when he said it.

"You can't just test her like this! Her magic is different from ours! If something were to go wrong—" Jayden said before he got interrupted by his father.

"Nothing should happen if you had been training her correctly."

Jayden flushed in anger, but something touched his shoulder. It was Penny holding him back. She smiled her big grin and turned towards Fredrick.

"Alright, I accept this test."


	27. Chapter 27

TAoP Chapter 27

Mage's Fight

"Excellent. I'm glad you feel that way," Jayden's father clapped his hands.

"No! I'm against this," Jayden spun Penny to face him. "You're not ready."

"And I'm not about to give them another reason to take me back," Penny whispered. "I can do this! I Believe in myself."

They stared down each other until Jayden looked away.

"Fine but she has to eat first."

"Alright, I'll allow that. But in one hour, she should be back here," Fredrick left to warm up for the test.

Jayden nodded and dragged Penny below deck with the others following. Once in the kitchen area, he put a huge pile of every kind of food they had on a plate and placed it in front of the girl.

"Eat it."

"I can't eat all of this! I won't be able to move," Penny complained.

"Fine. Eat as much as you can," Jayden said curtly. "You asked for this. Now as mage fight is different from any other fight you have been in. no weapons are used, besides your staff, no one can help you and it ends when one person cannot use their magic anymore."

"Sounds easy enough…"

"That's what you think."

"Penny, this is serious," Max sat next to her as she ate. "If you get hurt, we can't heal you. You are on your own once the fight starts."

"I understand," Penny sighed.

_Do you? This isn't a game. This seems to be really tough, _Midnight said.

"Guys, I can handle this! Trust me!"

Everyone looked worried, until Illiana gave a small smile, "Right, I think you can this, Pen."

"Thanks, Illiana! Now what do you mean 'no weapons'?"

"Exactly what it means, so hand over your sword and dagger. You can only use magic," Jayden explained more clearly.

` Penny handed her weapons to Max, "What about flying?"

"Hmmm…we'll have to ask about that one."

Penny continued to eat in silence, she could sense Midnight's concern, _Don't worry, I got this. I can win._

_ I'm not worried about that. What if you get hurt? Or your magic gets out of control again?_

_ No worries! I can handle anything. _She certainly had no idea what she got herself into.

At exactly one hour, the group went on deck, where Fredrick was waiting with Donald and Goofy. He had is staff out; it was pitch black. On the top of it was in the shape of a circle and in that circle was a black crystal.

Jayden bent down to Penny's height, "His specialty is elemental magic, but he is a strong user of all different types of magic. Be careful!"

Penny nodded. She started taking out of the beads in her hair; she didn't want the Hearts to distract her or cause them any distress.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You can still back out," Max whispered.

"I got this. I never back out," Penny put the beads in a pouch and them to Illiana. She then stepped up towards the middle of the ship.

Fredrick also moved forward as did Donald. He stood between the two of them and gave them the rules.

"Alright, this is a mage fight, which means magic only. Also you are not allowed any outside help. The first person unable to use magic, loses. There is no time limit. Any questions?" he looked between them.

"Am I allowed to fly?" Penny asked as Star peeked out of her shirt.

"Sorry, Penny. That's not part of your magic."

She nodded and pushed Star towards the others. The fairy sat on Midnight's head as he whined. Penny just smiled and gave a thumbs up.

"Okay, staffs out," Donald started the countdown.

"Wait, where is your staff?" Fredrick asked as Penny stood waiting.

"I don't have one."

"What?"

"She doesn't need one," Jayden called out.

"Ahem," Donald tried to regain their attention. "The test is about to begin. Are you ready?"

Penny grinned her cocky grin, "I was born ready!" The trio groaned behind her.

Fredrick smirked, "Such confidence."

Donald looked at the two and yelled, "Begin!"

Penny crouched down, waiting for him to make the first move since she still didn't quite understand what the point of the test was. Big mistake. The man had waved his staff and out of thin air, water rushed to Penny's feet. She gasped as the water froze, freezing her to the deck. As she struggled against the ice, Fredrick grabbed rope that was lying there about and transformed it into several arrows. They lifted into the air, the heads aimed at the poor girl. Penny panicked as he sent them flying towards her. Without thinking, she lifted her left arm, as if to block them, and waited for the pain. But it never came. Instead of pain, she felt heat. Her whole left arm was on fire, causing the arrows to burn in midair. Not only did the arrows burn, the ice turned into water again, freeing her. As she lowered her arm, it continued to burn, but she never got burnt or felt pain.

Fredrick's eyes were wide with shock as he watched her. "Wild magic," he whispered. His eyes hardened as he thought of another plan, but Penny didn't give him the chance.

She waved her right arm this time and the water around them sprang to the air and stayed suspended that way. It created a circle around them. Using her imagination, she created a bubble of rushing water around them so nothing can get in or out.

"There, now you can't transform anything," Penny staggered a bit. Already, her stomach growled for food. _Damn. Already used too much!_

_ Then pull back. There's no shame in only using a little bit at a time, _Midnight advised.

_No! I will win!_

"It seems you have used a bit too much," Fredrick observed.

Penny laughed a bit, "Trust me, this ain't nothing."

"Indeed. I wonder what else you can do." He his hands together, as if he was cupping something and a little flame of fire popped out of nowhere. He held it in his hands for awhile, thinking.

Penny stared at it. The fire wasn't normal. The very top part of the flame was white and the bottom half was blue. But that's not what surprised her the most; it was him tossing it into the water causing it to steam. She covered her eyes to protect them.

When she opened them again, she didn't see the ship or the man she was fighting. No, what she saw was her island. The water washed over her feet as she stared in amazement. _Was it all a dream? Where are Max, Illiana, and Jayden? Midnight? The Hearts?_

As she stood there, the Lost Boys came out of the forest, running towards her. They were laughing and, clearly, playing a game. Penny stared as Nibs came up to her and slapped her arm.

"Tag! You're it, Penny! Bet you can't catch all of us!" he yelled as they all ran back into the forest.

Penny soon forgot about everything as she ran after them, laughing and jumping like she used to. She raced them through the trees and splashed in the Lagoon. She couldn't remember what she was supposed to be doing and why.

As she was swimming underwater, a sharp pain came to her arms, legs and face. She went to the surface and found small scratches, and more appearing as she watched. She stood there in shock, but soon something scratched her side. She fell back clutching her side as she looked up.

Right above her was none other than Hook. His sword glistened in the sun which was aimed right at her throat. He smirked as he advanced towards her, his hook ready to strike. Penny crawled backwards, groping for her dagger, but finding nothing. She resigned to her fate when something tugged in the back of her mind. She ignored it, but it was persistent until a voice was shouting in her mind.

_Wake up Penny! It's a trap! Snap out of it! _Midnight howled.

_What? Midnight?_

Penny blinked and tried to focus on Midnight. Soon, the island, Hook, the Lost Boys disappeared and Jayden's father came into view, holding his staff above her, ready to deliver the final blow.

She shook her head and pushed her right arm in front of her, causing water to, finally, come out and blast him away from her.

"Argh!" he yelled as he hit the mast, his staff clattered away from him. "Impossible! How did you break out of that illusion?" he asked, but paled in fear.

Penny's eyes had gone completely green as she walked over to him. He scrambled for his staff, but fire exploded from the ground, blocking him. She didn't even have to move her hand in order to create the ring of fire around them.

Fredrick shrank back as she got closer.

"How dare you use that to show me my home! Using my memories to make me vulnerable! You will pay!" she lifted her left arm to punch him, but her arm was on fire.

"Penny stop!" Max grabbed her around the middle to stop her. He grunted as the fire burned him but he held on. Jayden stepped in front of her.

"Snap out of it Penny! It's only a test! You proved yourself!"

Penny stared at him and her eyes slowly turned back to normal. Her body slumped in Max's arms as she fell asleep.

Max carried her to the hammocks with Midnight as the others talked.

"That girl is dangerous! She lost control. Wild magic can do that!" Fredrick said as he stood there, healing himself.

"She was fine until you did the illusion spell," Jayden fought back. "She won, didn't she? He couldn't use his magic."

"Well, he did lose his staff. But she lost control when she got angry. That cannot be ignored," Donald thought.

"But fine otherwise, right?" Illiana said hopefully.

Donald didn't answer. Instead he only said, "When you come back to Fantasia, we will talk more about it."

"No. Now," Jayden said stubbornly.

His teacher sighed, "Fine." He went on to explain what he thought.


	28. Chapter 28

TaoP Chapter 28

Down the Rabbit Hole

Penny groaned as she slowly drifted to consciousness. She woke up in her hammock and one light burning brightly. As she tried to fall back asleep, the events of the fight came into her mind. Penny bolted up and ran to see the others. Midnight woke immediately from his slumber and followed her.

_What happened while I was out? _She asked as they searched.

_The man left, along with Donald and Goofy. You won the test. Donald talked to them about something, but I was making sure you were alright, _Midnight answered as he yawned.

_Hmm…I wonder what he had to say._

Midnight hesitated before he asked the big question, _What did he show you?_

Penny stopped walking and looked at the floor. She clutched her hands into fists as she remembered. _He used one of my memories as an illusion. I was young—well younger I should say—and I was swimming in the Mermaid Lagoon. When I got out, Captain Hook was there waiting for me. _She flinched at the memory. _After that, Peter taught me how to use a dagger._

_ Sounds like a bad memory. I'm sorry I brought it up._

She shook her head, _Don't worry about it. It's in the past._

When they made it to the top deck, Penny found the ship anchored next to a world and the others getting everything prepared. She rushed over to help and soon they were putting on their backpacks. The trio hadn't said a word the whole they talked. Finally, Penny couldn't stand the silence.

"So what did Donald say?"

The three glanced at each other and talked through their necklaces. Penny tapped her foot impatiently until Jayden started talking.

"Well, you passed…"

"And? I know he talked to you guys about something else. Midnight said so."

"He did, did he?" Illiana sent him a black look towards the wolf, but he ignored it. He really only listened to Penny anyways.

Max sighed, "Fine, I'll tell her." He knelt down to Penny's height and looked straight into her green eyes. "He says that you need to learn more about magic."

"Okay…I already knew that, mate," Penny flipped her hand carelessly, which caused water to sprinkle all over them. "Sorry!"

"Right, but you're gonna have to go to school for it."

Penny froze, unsure if she heard right. _School? But but…_

_ Why do you need to go there?_ Midnight frowned.

She echoed his question.

"Well for one thing, the teachers know how to handle your kind of magic," Jayden stepped in. "Another, you'll be with people your own age…maybe, since we have no idea how old you are."

"And it will be right by the castle, so we will be right there if you need us," Illiana added.

"I don't wanna go!" Penny exclaimed.

"It won't be until we visited a couple of more worlds, so you don't have to worry about it," Max said.

Penny pouted for awhile, "I'm not given a choice, am I?"

"Sorry Penny," Jayden said. "I went to this school and it's not so bad."

"Fine," she grumbled. "I'll go, but I won't like it!" Max ruffled her hair.

"Here are the beads, Penny," Illiana handed her the pouch. She put them in as Jayden teleported them to the new world.

They landed in a grassy plain with a castle in the background. There were daisies in the field. Penny fell into the flowers, smelling them and rolling around in them. She laughed as Midnight joined her.

_This place is peaceful, _she watched a butterfly flutter above her. But of course it doesn't last. She felt the presence of a Heart and can see the string leading her. Penny got up with a sigh.

"Over here, guys. The Heart is this way." She led the way into a small area of trees. Right at the edge of the trees was a huge hole, big enough to fit even Max, right up against a tree. The string led right down the rabbit hole. Penny knelt at the entrance and was about to go in when Max pulled her back out.

"What?"

"We have to find out what world this is first before we can do anything else." He watched Jayden type away on his computer.

"Can't we just ask the Heart what the name is?"

"Well that is one way to find out…"

"Good. Then I can contin—uuuuuuuuuuuuuue!" Penny slipped down the hole and started falling.

_Penny! _Midnight followed. They came side by side and started floating down towards the bottom. They looked around at the walls and found maps, chairs, tables, bookshelves—all things normally found in a house. The others followed closely and looked confused at everything around them.

"What the—this is one strange rabbit hole," Illiana said as she picked up a book.

"I think we are nearing the end," Penny spotted the end and landed with a thud. They all looked around, trying to find a way out when Max spotted a door. He went over and opened it, only to find another door and this one was slightly smaller. He kept opening doors until they came to the smallest door they ever seen. It took forever for them to all crawl through to only end up in an empty room.

"Well that was pointless," Jayden said as he rubbed his knees.

"Wait, I found another door!" Penny knelt down and grabbed the door knob, but it squawked at her as she tugged. "Woah! It talks!"

"That really hurt! I'm locked and you woke me up," the door knob looked at her.

"I'm sorry, but how are we supposed to get through? You are a small door."

"You should try the bottle."

"Bottle?" Jayden asked, but soon yelped in pain as a table smacked him in the back, causing him to lose his glasses. As Penny gave him his glasses back, Illiana examined the bottle. It was clear, as was the liquid, and the only thing on there was a small sign saying, "Drink Me."

"How strange. Here, Penny, you try it," Illiana passed the bottle to the girl. She sniffed the bottle and took a small sip. Soon she was shrinking until she was the right size to fit through the door.

"Wow! Hey guys, look! I shrank!" she called up to them. Max crouched down and picked her up with his hand.

"This must be some potion," Max said. Star flew from Illiana's shoulder and landed next to Penny. They were the same height. "Guess we better drink some."

Soon all of them were standing in front of the door ready to go in. Jayden tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge.

"I told you I was locked. The key should be on the table," the door knob explained.

Sure enough, as they all looked at the table, a key appeared next to the bottle.

"Well, how do we get that?" Illiana asked.

"Star, you think you could…" Penny looked at the fairy.

"Sure thing! Just wait here!" Star flew up and dragged the key off the table.

The trio looked shocked at Starlight, "She can talk!"

"Of course she can! We are finally her size so you can understand her," Penny explained as Star came back down.

"Otherwise, you hear bells when I talk. All the Big People can hear my bells, but only Penny can understand them. And since you are finally my height, you can hear me!" Star added. Her voice sounded pleasant and they never realized how much the two of them looked alike, right down to the same hair cut.

"Ummm…right. Should we open the door now," Illiana suggested. It took all of them to lift the key and open the door.

Once through, the group came out to what looked like a forest, but it could very well be just long grass. The string leading to the Heart seemed brighter once they entered the door and Penny continued to follow it. The others followed closely behind.

Illiana got close to Penny, "Are you sure we are going the right way?" A huge fly that looked like a rocking horse passed by them.

"I'm sure. The string is getting brighter along with the presence. I'm surprised we haven't run into her yet—ooof!" Penny ran into someone and that someone landed on top of her.

"Oh my!"


	29. Chapter 29

TAoP Chapter 29

The Queen's Court

Penny looked up at a small blond girl in a blue dress. She practically glowed white and she knew she had found the Heart of the world.

_I should really pay attention to where I'm going,_ Penny said as the others helped the girl up.

_Seeing as how you can feel where everyone is around you at all times. Yes. You are very clumsy or you should take your head out of the clouds, _Midnight laughed at her.

"I'm so sorry! I did not see you and I have lost my way. But I am ever so glad to run into people," the girl said, fiddling with her hands. "You see, the caterpillar told me to come this way and I had felt something this way, so I wondered this way."

"It's alright. I'm used to it. My name is Penny and these are my friends," Penny said pointing to each one saying their name.

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Alice and I appear to be lost again."

Penny flinched at the power and white came to mind. "We can help you out, Alice."

"Oh thank you so much! Now the caterpillar told me that one side of this mushroom will make you taller and the other side will make you small."

"Then we'll just take both," Illiana said as she grabbed each side. It took them quite a long time to finally figure out which side made them normal sized. Star was a little sad that they had to grow, but she quickly got over it. After they all returned to normal, Penny found herself to be the same height as Alice. She was startled to see a girl her own age.

"Much better," Max said as he stretched. "I miss being the tallest."

"Yea, being freakishly tall is amazing," Jayden muttered.

Illiana interrupted Max, "So Alice, do you know where we are and how you came here?"

"Oh yes! This is Wonderland and I was following the White Rabbit when I fell down a hole," Alice explained. "I'm too curious for my own good."

"Sounds like someone we know," Max said, side glancing at Penny.

"I'm not that bad! By the way Alice, I need you to do something…" Penny was tying a white bead in her hair as Alice put the green bead on a string around her neck. "Now what do we do?"

"Well we should still search for any Darkness activities. I didn't think we would find the Heart this fast," Jayden said as he sat on a log with is laptop out on his lap.

"The Cheshire Cat might know something," Alice offered.

"The Cheshire Cat?" Penny looked at her in disbelief. "What does a cat know?" Midnight barked in agreement.

"Now Penny, we always follow a lead, no matter who gives it," Illiana warned Penny as Alice looked sad. _Be nice Penny. She's only a little girl._

_ What? What does that have to do with anything?_ Penny held on to her necklace.

_She may be the youngest Heart. She needs special attention, _Max added.

Penny grumbled as a purple and pink cat materialized on a branch above her. He was humming a tune as he watched them, "You called for me?"

"Oh Cheshire Cat! These people are looking for Darkness. Do you know anything about that?" Alice went to stand under him, right next to Penny. Penny took a small step to the side as she came close. She didn't like the idea of someone her age.

"Darkness is everywhere. You just gotta know where to look," he answered as he stood up on his two legs.

"So they are here? Where are they?" Jayden asked.

"Who?"

"The Darkness."

"Where?" the Cat pretended to be searching for something.

"That's what I'm asking you for!" Jayden pulled out his staff ready to light the tree on fire.

"Oh no please! He likes to talk in riddles," Alice said, coming to the Cat's aide.

"If you're looking for _her, _you might want to try the Red Queen," the Cheshire Cat said as he slowly disappeared. "You might find something interesting."

"Wait, who's 'her'?" Illiana called but the Cheshire Cat was gone. All they could hear was his laughter. "Great, no help at all."

"If you want, I can show you the way to the Red Queen. But I must warn you, you mustn't get her angry," Alice offered.

"Thanks, Alice. We would like that."

They all entered the forest with Alice in the lead and penny in the back, frowning at the Heart. Her so-called teammates seemed to be more interested in the Heart than her. They even helped her over logs, but would they help Penny? No, she can take care of herself. Penny struggled over the logs, hoping to gain some attention. No such luck.

_Stupid girl Heart. Gaining all the attention._

_ No Penny, I didn't know you could get jealous, _Midnight said, walking beside her.

_Me? Jealous? Don't be silly! I'm not jealous! _Penny crossed her arms and decided to not pay any more attention to them, but something felt off. The forest had gotten quiet and she knew what that meant.

"Uh, guys, hold a minute," Penny cocked her head so she could hear better. Midnight sniffed the air for anything off. Max grabbed his sword and shield while Illiana cocked her guns. Jayden pulled out his staff waiting for anything. Penny ran to stand next to Alice, who looked scared.

"What's going on?" she asked shakily.

"Could be Shadows. We've had this happen to us before. Just stay close to me," Penny said as rustling occurred near them. They all froze and giant Cards came out of the bushed bearing spears. They had gathered around the group, not giving them any room for escape.

"Oh! It's just the Cards. They won't harm us," Alice said as she tried to get close to one but Penny pulled her back. She gave her a confused look.

"Stay here. Something isn't right," Penny hissed. When she glanced at the Cards, their eyes were pitched black. Illiana gripped her guns as she took aim at two of them. Jayden put on his goggles, waiting for the right moment. Max stood on Alice's other side. They seemed to be waiting for something.

Finally, one of the Cards attacked, but his spear turned into a bouquet of flowers. In fact, all the spears turned into flowers, thanks to Jayden's magic. The Cards stared at the flowers in confusion as the group attacked. Penny could only defend since she was protecting the Heart, but Max was handling most of it. But even as they were winning, more Shadows were coming.

"Penny, take Alice and get out of here!" Jayden yelled as he fought three at once. The trees were bending to his will and sweeping the Cards away.

"Are you crazy! There are too many for just the three of you." Penny argued. She had managed to freeze some of them as Max came up and got the Shadows. Illiana was in a tree, shooting from higher ground.

"No arguing! Just go!"

"Fine!" Penny turned to Alice. She quickly put her sword away. "Take me to the castle!" She picked up Alice like a princess and talked to Midnight, _Stay here and help the others!_

_ Okay, put if you do something stupid, I will tie you to a tree! _Midnight raced to help them.

"Star! We need dust!" Star flew around them and Penny flew above the trees.

"Oh my!" Alice called as she looked down.

"Where to, princess?" Penny asked, struggling to stay up. She never really flown with someone else before and it was difficult.

"Over there! Beyond the forest," Alice pointed to the right. Looming in the distance was a huge castle with hearts all around them.

"Alright, here we go!" Penny flew fast towards the castle.

When they arrived in a courtyard area, Penny set Alice down first, so she could have her sword out. She landed and waited. Nothing out of the ordinary here….well…stranger then what she has seen. In the courtyard was nicely cut grass and red rose bushes that seem to be dripping.

"Everything seems to be in order," Penny said, glancing around.

"What were those things?" Alice asked, coming close to Penny.

"Darkness. They are trying to throw this world into darkness. In order to do so, they must get rid of the Heart. The Hearts protect their world."

"But…how can I protect it? I'm only a—"

"WHO HAS BEEN PAINTING THE ROSES RED?" a booming voice sounded over the courtyard. Penny dragged Alice behind her as a large woman in red came into view. She had a small crown on her black hair, glaring at the Cards that were behind her, begging for forgiveness.

"OFF WITH THEIR HEADS!" she yelled and more Cards dragged the others away. The woman turned her head towards the girls. "WHO'S SNEAKING AROUND IN MY GARDEN?"

"Please your—Your Majesty. It's me, Alice," Alice stepped around Penny and presented herself.

"Why, yes dear. Of course it's you," the woman said almost kindly. "I was hoping you would visit me soon. Care for a game of croquet?"

_Who's the large woman? _Penny silently asked Alice.

_The Queen of Hearts. Please don't get her angry, _Alice begged. "Why, of course, Your Majesty. I would love to play a game with you." She curtsied.

"And who is this, my dear?" the Red Queen pointed her scepter at Penny.

"Name's Penny…Your Majesty," she said, bowing to her. She put her sword away and waited.

"Very good. NOW LET THE GAMES BEGIN!"


	30. Chapter 30

TAoP Chapter 30

Important Information

Cards brought over a pack filled with many different colored flamingos and pillows with the same colored hedgehogs. The Queen chose the green flamingo while Alice, reluctantly, chose the bright pink one. Penny shook her head when one was offered to her, but the Queen wouldn't allow it.

"Come, my dear. Please join us," she kindly asked Penny.

"If it pleases you, Your Majesty, I would prefer to—"

"PLAY THE GAME!"

Penny quickly grabbed the blue flamingo and waited. The Queen smiled and took her place to start. While the Queen was getting ready, Penny talked to Midnight.

_How's it going?_

_ Could be worse. But they seem to be getting weaker. How's the Heart?_

_ Currently playing a game with the Queen. _The Queen herself, completely missed her hedgehog, but the little animal ran anyways and the Cards jumped to make sure it went passed them.

_Anything else there? _Midnight asked.

_Nope. Not really, but I'll keep my eyes open. Come quickly. This lady annoys me._

Alice's turn was up and, after much fussing with her flamingo, she managed to hit the hedgehog. Even though the hit was good, the Cards ignored the creature and dodged it. The Queen laughed and smirked.

"Nice try, dearie. Perhaps next time."

"Yes, I must be having an off day," Alice replied.

"NOW!" Penny flinched as the Red Queen looked at her. "It's your turn."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Penny bent down and hit the poor blue hedgehog, without paying much attention. The same thing happened to her as it did to Alice. The Queen, smugly, went to take her next turn.

"I'm sorry about this," Alice whispered to Penny as they watched.

"Don't worry about it. This isn't so bad," Penny whispered back, but quickly looked at something over the hedges. Something black was lurking there, waiting and watching. The Queen passed by, her shadow showing up on the hedge and the black thing reached out to touch it.

Penny immediately went into action. She ran towards the Queen, pushed her down, and attacked the Shadow. She had managed to destroy it one hit and quickly looked for more. As she searched, the Queen's face slowly turned red until she practically exploded.

"WHO DARES TO PUSH ME DOWN?"

Penny mentally kicked herself as she forced herself to turn around. The Cards were all trying to help her up, but she pushed them down. She glared at Penny, pointing her scepter menacingly at her nose.

"OFF WITH HER HEAD!"

Cards surrounded Penny, as she watched them, feeling slightly annoyed. Alice tried to reason with the Red Queen, but she wouldn't listen. As the Cards came closer, Penny let her whole left arm go aflame.

"Come anywhere near me and you will get burned," she threatened. The Cards glanced nervously at one another. One hand they can have their heads chopped off or on the other hand they could get burned. Neither sounded better than the other.

"Listen to me, Queen, I only came here to ask a few questions and you will answer them," Penny said, pulling something out of her pocket.

"YOU DARE QUESTION MY—" The Queen stuttered and threw her hands to her mouth in fear as Penny suddenly towered over her. She had kept some of the mushroom from the forest and ate it. The Cards scrambled over each other to get away from her. Penny knelt down in front of the Queen and Alice.

"Now, my Queen, if you would be so kind as to answer some of my questions, I won't bother you anymore."

"Y—yes dear. Anything you say," the Queen of Hearts said. Alice beamed at Penny for her cleverness.

"Alright, I came to this world to hunt for Darkness. My friends and I ran into some Shadows when the Cheshire Cat mentioned you. Would you know anything about the Darkness or the Shadows running around in your domain?"

"Me? Why-why I don't know what you-you are talking about—SQUEE!" Penny had reached over and neatly picked her up by the back of the dress. "Alright! Alright! PUT ME DOWN AND I WILL TELL YOU!" Penny gently set her back down.

"Tell me what you know."

"They wanted me to join them, but I told them I don't like people ruling over me. I rule people. They weren't happy with me, so they started sending the Shadows to see if they could control me," the Queen finally admitted.

"Who's 'they'?"

Before the Queen could answer, the others had arrived. They stared at Penny and Midnight groaned internally.

_Didn't I say not to do anything stupid? _He said as he sat next to her.

_Well, I got some information, so it wasn't stupid. It was necessary._

"Penny, did you really have to do this?" Max asked.

"Yes, yes I did. Oh the cleverness of me!" Penny crowed.

Jayden sighed, "Fine, please, continue."

"Now, who's 'they'?" Penny turned back to the Queen.

"I'm not sure! I've never seen them," the Red Queen answered harshly.

"Why don't I believe you?" Penny reached back over to her, but the Queen stood her ground. "Hmmm….perhaps you are telling the truth. Alright, you gave us some good information, so now you have to do something in return. Once we leave, you must take care of Alice."

"What? Why should I do that? Remember, I'm the Queen of Hearts." She was starting to get some of her composer back.

"Because if you don't, I'll know about it and I will come back here and destroy your castle," Penny said smoothly.

The Queen thought about it for awhile, "I will accept these terms on one condition. You must come back to continue our little game."

Penny smiled, "Of course, Your Majesty. Now I was hoping you would have something to make me smaller…"

Once Penny had returned back to normal and Illiana and Max gathered all the information they could from the Queen and Jayden had laid a couple of spells against the Darkness around the castle, the team was ready to head out. Alice had taken Penny to wonder a bit in Wonderland. She had shown her all the spots she had visited and told her stories about what happened. When they had come back, the Queen demanded they have tea before they went. The crew couldn't deny her since they had finally gotten on her good side, so a table was set and they had a tea party.

They had just stared when two new people showed up. Alice ran to meet them and introduced them as the Mad Hatter and the March Hare. The Hatter had a rather large green hat to match his yellow and green suit. He was smaller than Penny and talked in nonsense and riddles. The March Hare was well…a brown rabbit. He wore a red suit and passed tea to everyone. Penny soon had taken a liking to them and was laughing and talking to them. At the end of the rather long tea party, everyone had their fill, except for Alice who didn't have a single cup of tea for the Hatter kept calling out, "Clean cup! Clean cup! Mooooove down!"

The group was finally getting ready to leave in the courtyard. Alice had come to say good-bye.

"Are you sure the Queen will keep her promise?" she asked as Penny put on her pack. It was getting heavier and heavier every trip.

"Sure I'm sure! This will be the safest place for you. If not then we shall move you somewhere safer," Penny said.

"Alright, if you say so…"

"If anything happens, contact Penny. She will always answer," Illiana said.

"Yes, I shall do that! Well good-bye everyone! Thank you for finding me when I was lost!"

They all waved good-bye and in a flash of light, they vanished.


	31. Chapter 31

TAoP Chapter 31

A Dark World

As soon as they landed on the deck, Penny crumbled in exhaustion. Midnight came over and licked her face.

_What's in the backpack? _He asked, sniffing the contents.

_Nothing of importance,_ Penny hugged her pack. _Just the usual things._

Midnight looked at her and Max snatched the pack from her.

"Oi! Give it back!" she chased him around the deck.

"Jeez, this pack is heavy. What's in here? Rocks?" Max complained as he used on hand to keep Penny away.

"Not fair!"

Max opened the pack and stared inside. He didn't say anything until Illiana spoke up.

"Well, is it rocks?"

Without a word, he dumped the contents and a huge pile of things tumbled out. Wrapped in the cloak Jasmine gave her was gold, glittering in the sun. Books from Belle's world. A spyglass that seemed to belong to Captain Amelia. The "Drink Me" bottle and a chest of "Eat Me" sweets from Wonderland. A small sketchbook from Jane.

They all stared at the pile until Jayden looked at Penny.

"You stole all of this?"

"It's not stealing! I'm collecting. There's a difference," Penny grabbed the backpack and started packing it all back in.

"Penny, this is stealing! How did you learn such a thing?" Illiana came over and stood in front of her.

"We always took stuff from Hook back on my island. It was natural for me. Besides I want to remember the worlds we go to."

"You have to ask permission first or else people will think you were stealing. Which is bad."

Penny hung her head and didn't say anything.

"I want you to go do some sword exercises to think about what you did," Max said as he grabbed the pack again.

"And magic exercises. You are to do that until we tell you to stop. Got it?" Jayden said sternly.

"Yes, sir. I got it," Penny mumbled. Midnight whined at them.

"Good. Get on the top deck and start."

Penny got up and slowly went to where she was sent. Midnight followed silently beside her and Star twinkled sympathetically. She started on the sword exercises first so that she would get hungry later than earlier. She started swinging her sword at an imaginary enemy. After some offensive moves, Penny moved on to defensive moves. Blocking and jumping around the deck, caused her to see out in the galaxy. Some other ships passed by them and the stars shone brightly. There was a world in the distance that she could see. It was different than the other ones. This one was darker and scary looking.

_I wonder what world that is. _Penny wondered as she climbed the rigging to see better.

_I'm not sure, but shouldn't you be practicing, _Midnight stated, also watching the world.

_It's fine. Don't worry about it. Will we be going there?_

"You are supposed to be working," Max said from below her.

"Sorry, I was watching the world get closer. Will we be going there?" she asked as she jumped back down.

"Not sure yet. I have no idea what Illiana is planned. But since you need to be punished, I suppose we should practice." Max took out his sword and shield. Penny grinned as she got ready and soon they were having a mock fight.

After an hour, Penny felt less tired and sore than she normally did, but still got more bruises than Max. Before she could have a small break, Jayden joined them on deck.

"Oh good, have you done your magic yet?"

Penny groaned, "No, but can I have a small break first?"

"No. You should be able to use magic and fight at the same time. So let's get started."

So for about another hour, Penny worked on her magic. She discovered that she could shape the water into any weapon if she lost her sword. She didn't want to see if fire would do the same thing because she didn't want it to go horribly wrong. She and Jayden had a mage's fight until her stomach demanded that she have food. Jayden said that he was satisfied and called it quits. Penny ran down to where the food was and found that Illiana had made food for all of them. She had made a giant pot of pasta.

Before Penny could sit down, Illiana stopped her.

"Go wash up first."

"Why? I'm starving. It's fine, I'll do it later."

"No. Now, Penny."

Penny glared up at Illiana and grumbled down to where the bathroom was. She quickly scrubbed her hands and ran back up to the kitchen. Illiana still wasn't satisfied, but she let it go. For now.

Penny naturally ate the fastest and the most. The others were discussing their plans, again.

"Maybe we should head back. We visited many worlds already. Besides, Penny should go to school," Illiana said.

"I agree. We have information for the King and maybe some of the other warriors picked up something," Jayden added.

"What about the world coming up?" Penny piped up.

"We can visit that one later. It's not very popular," Illiana looked at her.

"But if we are already here, why not look at it?"

"Penny has a point," Max jumped in. "We are here and not that far off from home."

"Max, we can't delay anymore. The information has to get to the King," Jayden said.

"Technically it would be easier, but the schooling…" Illiana tried to keep the peace.

"As the leader, I say we go," Max said with authority. "I kinda wanted to see this world anyway."

"What world is it?" Penny finally asked. She was listening and waiting for a chance to ask. Plus, she was willing to delay the home ride.

"It's Halloweentown. We haven't heard from that world in awhile but it doesn't need our constant attention like the other worlds."

"Let's go! I don't see any reason not too!"

"C'mon guys. You mean to tell me that you want to go back home where people tell you what to do," Max leaned into the table and looked at the two of them.

Jayden and Illiana looked at each other for a while. Finally Jayden sighed.

"Alright, but only for a search and look. We are not staying long."

"Yes!" Penny and Max high fived and ran to get ready for departure.

_Now I have more time to do whatever I want! _Penny said to Midnight as she packed.

_I guess so but you have to go to school eventually, _Midnight said, but was wagging his tail in excitement.

_C'mon, you are just as eager to see the world as me!_

_ Okay, okay you are right. I wonder what's there…_

"Penny! C'mon let's go!" Max called down.

"Coming!" Penny ran back up there.

"Are we ready?" Jayden asked with his staff out.

"Yes!"

"Here we go."

They landed in a clearing with trees surrounding them in a circle. The trees had different symbols drawn on the trunks. There was an egg, a turkey, a heart, and the one right behind the group had a tree. The place was dark and black. The moon barely let any of its light shine down in the forest. Penny went running around the trees, until Jayden pulled her back.

"What now?"

"I need to create a spell before we do anything," Jayden explained. He stood there mumbling to himself as a small light appeared in front of him. As he waved his staff, the light went around them and Penny was blinded for a second.

When she opened her eyes, her clothes were the same, maybe a bit more tattered and dirty, but that wasn't the big change. It was her arms; they were furry and her hands turned into paws. She felt her ears perk up and around as it heard noises from a mile away.

Penny turned to the others and watched their transformations. Illiana wore a long dark purple dress with long while gloves on her arms. On her head was a deep purple witch's hat. Her hair curled around her head.

Jayden was completely see through and had no legs, just a wisp that curled in the air. He did have a whitish tint to him so they could easily see him. He was able to hold on to his staff which was the only solid thing on him.

Max wore a blood red cape around his neck and a dark blue suit. He still had his sword and shield on him, but he looked weird in a suit like that. But his teeth came to a shock. Instead of being square, they were pointed and sharp looking. Max lifted his hand to feel them as they all looked at each other.

"What did you make Penny?" Illiana asked, as she circled the girl.

"Oh a werewolf pup. I thought it suited her," Jayden said.

"A vampire? Really? Am I a normal one or one of those vampires that sparkles?" Max complained.

"A normal one, of course. Those ones aren't even scary. Nor will they ever be. Stupid notion really."

"Hey! It wasn't that bad! Don't mock something that you have never read!" Illiana blushed and snapped at them.

"Sure, sorry!"

"Why are we like this?" Penny asked.

_You look good. You would make an interesting wolf,_ Midnight stated as he sniffed around.

"We have to blend in with the people her. You'll see when we get to the town," Jayden said. "If only we knew where to go."

"This way," Penny led the way out of the forest. They walked down the black path, unaware they were watched.


	32. Chapter 32

TAoP Chapter 32

The Pumpkin King

They all walked in silence as Penny followed the indigo string. She had created little balls of fire to follow them, creating a little bit of light. The girl was actually a little bit jumpy.

_Are you scared? _Midnight asked sensing her anxiety.

_Me? Scared? Please, I've seen worser things, _Penny crowed.

"How far is the town? This forest is endless," Illiana said. She ended up wearing high heeled boots with her costume. They were starting to really bother her feet.

"It's not that bad. You know, thus world is actually pretty interesting," Jayden said as he hovered along the path.

"If you weren't a ghost right now, I would hit you."

"Ah! I think we're here," Penny exclaimed as she stopped suddenly. It was hard to talk with fangs in her mouth instead of teeth. Max and Illiana ran into her while Jayden drifted past them.

In front of them was a rusted, bent iron gate that was as tall as a tree. Pointed spikes adjoined the top making it impossible to climb over. Inside the gate was a town square. The middle held a fountain that glowed lime green water and a disfigured ghoul for a fountain head.

More people walked around the square, glancing up at a countdown that was on top of the town hall. It showed 45 more days until Halloween. There were excited murmurs among the people as they saw how many days were left. None of them noticed the group of new comers outside the gate.

"You think they might let us in?" Illiana asked as she watched them over Penny's shoulder.

"Well, I can get in," Jayden boasted as he went through the gate. "See?"

"I swear I will hit you—"

"Oh! So are you new here?" A high pitched voice said next to them. It was a girl who looked like she had been sewn together. Her red hair looked like yarn and her dress was merely patches stitched together.

"Hello. I'm Penny and these are my friends. We were looking around when we stumbled upon your town," Penny said politely as everyone took to staring at the girl. _Guys, stop staring. It's rude._

"Well, I'm Sally and this is Halloweentown. We are getting ready for the big night. It is so close that everyone is getting ready so soon. Now if you would excuse me, I have to return this to Jack." She lifted a basket to show them a sewing kit and a costume inside.

"Hold on a sec, I need you to do something for me…"

As Sally left them, Penny tied an indigo bead as the others talked over what happened.

"That was easy," Max said.

"Well, I think we should look around. Something doesn't feel right to me," Jayden said, looking around in the gloom.

"I agree. We're here and this place hasn't been visited in awhile," Illiana added.

"Okay, let's go."

The group set off away from the town and entered a graveyard. They crowded closer together as fog drifted slowly around them. An owl hooted from a tree close to them. Illiana yelped and ran into Penny.

"Ow! Illiana, you stepped on my tail!" Penny exclaimed as she smoothed it.

"Sorry, this place gives me the creeps! Can we go soon?"

"Just a little bit further…"

"Hehehe! People are here! What fun!" a little squeaky voice echoed around them.

"Yes! Shall we play a game? What shall we play with them?" another equally annoying voice called.

"Too bad Oogie Boogie isn't here. Leavin' us for _her_," a third voice said.

"Stupids! We work with Jack now! Oogie Boogie can stay with Maleficent for all I care!"

"Wait! That name! I know it from somewhere. Where have you heard that name?" Jayden demanded.

All three voices laughed, "Like we would tell you!"

"Grr…huh? What Penny?" he looked at her as she shook her head. She had a slight smile and gazed away from the group. Soon they heard squeals of terror and a struggle. Midnight came out of the bushes carrying three small figures. One was a girl in a witch's costume; a boy in a devil one; and another boy in a scary mask. They were clearly younger than Penny with the height they were.

_Nice hunting Midnight, _Penny praised as Midnight came over to her.

_It's what I do. Besides they were annoying me,_ he said as he dumped them at her feet.

"Now tell us about Maleficent if you really know anything," Max said glaring down at them.

"We don't know nothing," the girl said, folding her arms.

"Why should we? It's just as Shock said," the devil said.

"Yea, she's not the leader of us unlike Oogie Boogie. Right, Lock?" the slight larger one asked looking at the other two.

"Barrel!" both kids yelled at him. He hid his face, "I'm sorry, I didn't know it was supposed to be a secret."

"Leader? Could it be the one who is threatening the Queen of Hearts?" Illiana whispered to the others.

"Possibly. I swear I have heard that name before. This is going to bug me until we get back," Jayden mused while he drifted back and forth.

"Do you know anything else?" Penny asked the kids.

"Nuh huh! Like we would tell!" Shock said.

"What's going on here?" a voice called out. Behind them was a very tall, well dressed skeleton.

"Jack!" the kids yelled and ran behind him.

"These people are bullying us!" Lock said.

"Yea! They threatened us!" Barrel caught on.

"They're horrible!" Shock bawled.

"Oh really? They don't seem to be doing anything to me," Jack looked at the group with curiosity.

Sally came up next to Jack, "Jack, these are the new people I was talking about."

"Really? Then allow me to introduce myself! I'm Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King. And you already met the troublemakers, Lock, Shock, and Barrel.

"Nice to meet'cha. I'm Penny and these are my friends."

"Great to meet all of you! Care for a tour around the town? I'd be happy to give you one."

"That sounds awesome! Where do we—"

"Sorry, Jack, but we are going to have to take a rain check on that. We have to get going," Jayden interrupted Penny.

"Yea, we are wanted back home, but we will be back," Illiana grabbed Penny, but something else grabbed her by the ankle. It pulled her away from the others.

"Penny!" Max yelled. Penny used her claws to slow her down, but it just continued to drag her with intense speed.

Soon, she lost sight of the group, except Midnight who was following her as fast as he could.

_Hold on! I'm coming!_

_ What is it? What grabbed me?_

_ I'm not sure. I can't see anything._

She looked around as she was being dragged and saw they were in the forest. Penny tried to grab a tree branch, but it was too weak and it broke in her hand.

Midnight started to slow down slightly.

_Don't leave me!_

_ I'll find you! I promise!_

"MIDNIGHT!" Penny yelled as she lost sight of him. Soon she was moving faster and a bump in the road caused her to black out.


	33. Chapter 33

TAoP Chapter 33

Going Home

Penny woke up in a dark, damp place. She tried to get up to get her bearings, but found her hands and feet tied together.

"Great, just my luck," she whispered when she also found her weapons were gone. She quietly struggled until she heard footsteps coming closer. Penny got to her side and pretended to still be knocked out. It was two Shadows that came in and started to drag her out of the room. As she snuck a peek, she saw that the whole place was crawling with Shadows. She quickly closed her eyes against them, wishing for her friends and Midnight.

A few minutes later, the Shadows carrying her brought her to a circular room that seemed oddly colorful. There were some instruments of torture everywhere and cages around the walls. They dropped her on to the ground and left her there.

"So this is the brat that's been messin' with our plans?" a voice said above her and it sent a chill down her spine as she recognized it from her childhood.

"Well, she was with the new group of people and seemed like an easy target," another voice said, but this one was unrecognizable.

Somebody reached down and turned her on her back. A gasp sounded from Captain Hook as he saw her.

"If it isn't the girl brat from the island!"

"You know her?" the thing beside him looked like a moving sack with eyes and a mouth.

"Know her? She runs around with Pan and the Lost Boys."

"But now she's our prisoner. I wonder what interest she is to us."

"Who knows, Oogie Boogie. Maybe the King's lackey's brought her from some reason."

"Boy, you guys really like to talk, don'tcha? Can you be quiet for a moment and untie me? I can't feel my feet or arms," Penny complained, lying awkwardly at their feet.

"Shut up! You can stay there while we try to get the others." Hook glared at her.

"I knew you were going to say that. Then this shall go the hard way."

Penny used her fire you heat up her whole arm, which caused the ropes to burn off. With her arms free, she swiped at the ropes by her feet, her arm still on fire. Finally, she was free.

When all of this was happening, the two villains just watched at amazement until the girl started running away. They leaped into action.

"Shadows! After her!" Hook yelled.

Penny looked back and saw black shapes following her. Naturally, she didn't have Star with her.

_The next time I see that fairy, I'm sewing her to my shirt!_

_ Penny! Where are you? I lost your scent, _Midnight sounded in her head.

_I have no idea. I might be underground. I'll just let you know when I get out._

After Midnight left, a new voice entered, _Where are you? Your friends said I could do this, but I wasn't sure…_

_ Sally! Tell them I'm coming back as soon as I found the exit, _Penny said as she kept running. She used her fire to slow down the Shadows for awhile, but they just keep coming back.

_Show me where you are._

Penny focused all of her thoughts on what she sees and could feel Sally examine each picture she sent her.

_Okay, take the next right._

The girl slid on the ground in order to make the next turn. She wasn't expecting the turn to be so soon. The Shadows didn't make on time, but it still didn't stop them.

_Now where, Sally? _Penny panted.

_A left. There should be a stair case. Take them._

Penny bolted around the next corner and waved her right hand behind her, making the passage impassable. She had frozen the entrance with a thick sheet of ice. She raced up the stairs and burst into the graveyard she was in earlier.

She stood there with her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She sensed Midnight and the others coming as she took a huge gulp of Never water. As she waited, Penny thought about Hook. Why was he there? True, she hadn't seen him for awhile on Neverland, but she never expected him to be in a different world. Who else traveled besides the people of Fantasia and Montressor? This was important information for the King, no doubt about it. How did they know they were there?

Midnight came around the corner, derailing her thoughts. He moved faster than the others in order to see her sooner.

_Hook? He's here? How is that? And where is your sword?_

_ I have no answer for any of those questions._

The trio and Jack and Sally came around the same corner in a rush.

"Are you hurt? What happened? Where did you go?" Illiana came over to check on her.

"I'm not sure. I was underground, I think, and was dragged to see this thing called Oogie Boogie and Hook.

"Oogie Boogie!" Jack exclaimed as Sally gasped beside him.

"Hook? Isn't he from your world?" Max asked.

"Yes, and they took my sword."

"How did you get out?" Jayden asked.

Penny explained what happened when she was dragged from their sight. After a few minutes, the boys, including Jack, decided to go down and check out the place. So the girls stayed in the graveyard and waited.

It wasn't very long until they came back with disgruntled looks. Max had found her weapons and gave them back to her.

"Did you find anything?" Illiana asked them.

"Nothing except Penny's ice wall. Very nice by the way. But other than that, it was completely clean," Jayden answered miserably.

"The only thing there that I found was Penny's sword and dagger," Max confirmed.

"Then we should head back and tell the King."

Jack entered the conversation, " We'll keep a look out for Oogie Boogie and let you as soon as we can."

"Thank you. We would like that."

The team had set sail for the long journey home and Penny was sulking. She sat on the rigging, glaring at the stars. Midnight lay below her, letting her pout in silence until she was ready to talk. The others were making sure that everything was in order. Star sat on Penny's shoulder, staring at the stars.

_I don't want to go back, _Penny said.

_You have to. You need to go to school, _Midnight said wearily.

_That and they treat me like a child._

_ You don't know that._

_ Well, I still won't go!_

_ Think about how happy Minnie would be when we get back._

Penny slumped in defeat, _Yea, you're right. As usual._

_ And, it will be a long journey home._

They sat in silence and watched the stars pass by as the travelers returned home.

**I hope you all have enjoyed Penny's adventures as much as I did! This is the last chapter of this journey and the next ones will be up soon so please look for them! Thank you reading this and I hope you will join Penny and the others for their next adventure! Safe flying!**


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